Trade

Lebanon’s BLC Bank is being partnered by IFC, a member of the World Bank Group to help increase trade fi nance for businesses in Lebanon, expanding economic activity in the region. Under the agreement, BLC Bank becomes an issuing bank as part of the IFC Global Trade Finance Programme, which supports trade with emerging markets and promotes the fl ow …

Saudi Arabia’s economic diversifi cation initiatives, one of the priorities listed in its fi ve-year development plan, has yielded positive results, Dr. Waleed Al-Wohaib, chief executive officer of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) – a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group – said in a speech before the first Saudi Conference for Trade Finance and Export held …

The convergence of cash management and trade finance is a banking trend that Islamic bankers are increasingly taking note of. here, SHAHERYAR ALI discusses the concept of a shariah-compliant integrated treasury offering. The past decade has seen two extraordinary banking trends, especially in the Middle East. The first has been the growth of Islamic banking, brought about by a pent-up …

Following a recent roundtable event hosted by BNY Mellon in Istanbul, CIHAT TAKUNYACI, the firm’s treasury services representative for Turkey, discusses transaction banking in the Turkish market. Turkey’s strategic geographic position between europe and the Middle east has sparked (continuing) growth in Turkish-Middle eastern trade flows. however, do Turkey’s local banks have what it takes, in terms of local transaction …

MANINDER BHANDARI is managing director & head of Middle east & africa for Treasury services at bny Mellon. Cash & Trade caught up with him to discuss the ways in which the economic crisis has altered Mena trading patterns and the region’s next step in treasury solutions. If money really does make the world go around, then effective treasury management …

Energy companies in the Middle east have been hit hard by the global economic downturn, but a revival is underway. This is putting pressure on treasury departments to improve their operational efficiency and enhance working capital, writes LANCE T. KAWAGUCHI of CITI. In the Middle East have had to cope with a significant fall in demand for their products. This …

As the global economy recovers, the role of export credit agencies in facilitating trade flows in the Middle East is more important than ever. by PIERS CONSTABLE, director of Deutsche Bank’s structured trade and export finance for the Middle East and Africa. The World bank’s global economic outlook for 2010 points to a trade resurgence. In recent months, quarterly growth …

Risk management and liquidity are required in order to meet the global trade rebound, writes ETIENNE BERNARD (left), head of Global Transaction services eurozone & Middle East, and NICOLETTA STELLA, Middle East strategy, Global Transaction services Middle East at RBS. While there are indications that the worst of the credit crisis may be behind us, it is generally thought that …

As a Mena treasury manager of one of the Middle east’s leading corporates, and its biggest pharmaceutical manufacturer, EYAS QUIDEMAT is in a prime position to drive the company’s growth plans – and demand more from its banks. Eyas Quidemat is the MENA treasury manager for Middle East pharmaceutical giant Hikma. As a major manufacturer of drugs, hikma leads the way …

Alexander R. Malaket, CITP, President Opus Advisory Services International Inc. Transparency is a notion that has received a great deal of attention over the past year in particular, as relating to financial dealings in the GCC, the Middle East and the MENA region more broadly.  Is this simply the latest buzzword to circulate in business and financial circles? Is it …

The Internet, new technology, trade moving East globalisation and then, the financial crisis too! Corporate treasurers have seen it all and many are still reeling from the implications. But one consequence is that they are increasingly taking centre stage in their organisations, and their views are being heard at board level after years of relatively benign neglect. Corporations and their …

The importance of raising the bar in challenging times by Derek Ennis of Coastline Solutions. According to recent figures from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) global trade is set to decline by around 9% in 2009 compared to last year. We have all read about the causes – from falling demand to the tightening of credit lines and a general loss …

Trade finance has been caught in the crossfire of the global economic crisis, both as a symbol of its extensive reach and as a vital piece of the solution. BY Alexander R. Malaket , CITP, President OPUS Advisory Services International Inc .   The business of trade finance has been through one of the most dynamic, innovative periods in its …

Headquartered in the Kingdom of Bahrain for the past 125 years, the Bahrain Maritime Mercantile International group (BMMI) is a diversified retail, distribution, logistics and contract services group. By Caroline Maginn – CMM Trade partner   BMMI specialises in the distribution, wholesaling and retailing of food and beverages, and represents a leading portfolio of global household brands. The group is …

In an exclusive interview for Cash & Trade Zaki M. Jawad, Saudi Hollandi Bank’s Head of Transaction Banking Group explains why he believes there is tremendous growth potential for trade business in the kingdom. This must be an opportune time to be a banker in Saudi Arabia, which has been protected from the worst effects of the global downturn, and …

By Krishnakumar Duraiswam y, Director -Transaction Banking , Regional Trade Product Management Standard Chartered Bank Many businesses have cash flow that varies considerably. A business might have a relatively large cash flow in one period, and a relatively small one in another. Because of this, firms find it necessary to maintain a cash balance on hand, and to use working …