Trade

Concerns are growing that mooted changes to banking regulations could restrict the availability of trade finance and potentially lead to a drop in global trade flows – something that could be particularly detrimental to smaller companies and emerging market banks. Dominic Broom discusses how local global partnerships can help these institutions overcome the challenges presented by regulatory compliance Times are …

As at Q3 2010, Riyadh Bank’s corporate liabilities rose over Q2 2010 to reach SAR90bn, whilst over the same period corporate assets also rose to SAR90bn and trade related contingencies held fi rm at SAR56bn. In recent years, the bank achieved market shares of approximately 20 per cent in each category and continued to occupy the No1 position in the …

Islamic trade finance, far from being a mature industry, is nevertheless, faced with exciting prospects going forward especially in developing new product in structured trade finance, trade funds and trade receivable-related derivative. MUSHTAK PARKER reports In the scheme of global trade flows, Islamic trade finance is a mere drop in the ocean but the potential is huge given that the …

In broad terms, corporate banking remained a prime business segment for banks within Saudi Arabia, whether measured as a percentage of assets, liabilities or operating and net income, writes. CAROLINE MAGINN, Cash Management Matters – CMM trade partner As global trade continues to recover banks are playing an important role in financing it. They are providing a range of traditional …

An increasing proportion of the Middle East’s international trade is being conducted on open account, with a corresponding decline in the use of letters of credit. FARAZ HAIDER, of Citi, looks at what can be done by exporters (and their banks) to reduce the risks of trading on open account. As global trade continues to recover, banks are playing an …

A swift exit from recession has shown that there is more to bountiful Brazil than commodities, according to ALEXANDER GORRA, director at BNY Mellon ARX Brazil weathered the global economic downturn better than many countries and performed robustly in 2010. In 2011, it offers substantial promise amid expectations for strong growth led by domestic demand. The charismatic Luis Inacio Lula …

Should the Middle East refocus attention on markets in Europe and the Americas, or continue to explore opportunities in relatively new markets in Asia? ALEXANDER R. MALAKET, CITP, reviews developments in the trade activities of businesses in the Middle East at a time when some world economies have all but regained pre-crisis growth rates, while others continue to struggle against …

MUSHTAK PARKER looks at some of the constraints on the sector Considering that intra-Islamic trade between the 57 member countries of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) states totalled a staggering $556.328bn in 2008, albeit 16.55 per cent of their total trade, one would have assumed that the uptake of Islamic trade and commodity finance would be equally robust. This …

As part of its aim to create transparency in the trade finance marketplace, CMM publishes this report, prepared by CAROLINE MAGINN, Cash Management Matters, CMM trade partner. This research will be updated quarterly throughout the year and anticipates the full-year report for 2010, which will be released after annual reports are published by the banks in Saudi Arabia. In the …

Philippe Arbadji, BNY Mellon’s vice president for treasury services, Levant region, and Dominic Broom , managing director, treasury services EMEA, recently hosted a roundtable featuring a number of senior trade and transaction banking professionals from across Lebanon and Jordan. In light of the views expressed, they discuss the future of the sector. While many banks in the West are seemingly …

Maki Vekinis, Cash Management Matters – CMM Managing Partner, looks at the difference between vendor evaluation and selection of a cash management programme Following up from our previous article on vendor evaluation and selection of a cash management platform, we will now describe the differences between the two activities and why they should be kept apart and separate. In a …

CMM trade partner CAROLINE MAGINN explains why the company is proud to launch the Tajara Monitor (the”Tajara”) for teh Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the publication’s importance in the field of trade finance This is the first publication to the market that looks in depth at the trade finance market-place in the KSA and at its underlying drivers, namely: …

A new era in credit and political risk insurance is now being ushered in thanks to the ICIEC . MUSHTAK PARKER reports One of the unintended benefits of the global financial crisis is the increasing awareness of risk and how to manage it in business, trade and investment. One risk management option is export credit and political risk insurance, and …

  The Arab world can make a big difference to emerging markets, according to Marvin Zonis, professor emeritus of Busess Administration at Chicago Booth School of Business. In his talk entitled “The Middle East & North Africa: Deepening Ties with Other Emerging Markets”, he said that while global economic growth was returning, emerging markets were expanding more rapidly. He told …

As an up-date to a previous article about factoring, Cash&Trade decided to canvass opinion from the leading factors in MENA during what, arguably, has been the worst period of turmoil that the financial sector has seen for many years. Caroline Maginn, Cash Management Matters -CMM Trade Partner, reports Far from collapsing, the factoring market has been resilient through the downturn …

The increasing potential and importance of South-South trade is reviewed by ALEXANDER R. MALAKET, CITP, president of Opus Advisory Service International Inc. (pictured) In particular, he looks at developments between Asia and the Middle East and relationships evolving through and beyond the global crisis.  The global balance of power is shift – ing, as is its nature over time, and …