Moderator: Deepesh Patel, Editor, Trade Finance Global

Featuring: 

• Josh Kroeker, Chief Product Officer, Contour
• Maryana Stober, Associate General Counsel, ADM & President of WISTA – Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association
• Sanjay Tandon, Regional Head, Product and Propositions, Asia Pacific, GTRF, HSBC

The last two years have been eventful, to say the least for the commodities markets.

After a tremendous bust during the initial outbreak of COVID-19, we have seen an equally impressive boom from mid-2020 onwards.

A number of factors – such as supply chain issues, record levels of fiscal stimulus, and 40-year high inflation – have helped commodity prices levitate ever higher, with no sign of a reversal yet.

And now, we have the Ukraine crisis, where the aggression of one of the world’s largest commodities producers continues to wreak havoc on prices and production. 

Earlier this month, WTI oil prices were at their highest since 2008, and European gas futures reached a record high of 198 eur / MWH.

Several major western banks have already pulled out of Russian commodity finance, and more are almost certain to follow.

Against this backdrop, it seems a good time for the commodities trade finance industry to reassess.

Where will the supercycle take us next? And will conflict in Ukraine, and isolation for Russia, help or hinder the green energy transition for the rest of the world?

Is digitisation ready to take commodity finance to a new level of sophistication, or are we still many pieces away from putting that jigsaw puzzle together?

This panel session recorded at Commodity Trading Week Online 2022 covers:

• Sustainability, super cycles, digitalisation – Impact of key industry megatrends on commodity trade finance
• What are the key investment and project execution challenges while transitioning to a net zero world and how can we mitigate them?
• Speeding up with innovation- is digitisation in trade finance the great equaliser?
• Which markets and commodities demonstrate the greatest potential returns in the years ahead?
• A golden era of fraud and financial crime in commodity trade?
• What is the road ahead for sustainable finance?