GTR News Brief

GTR News Brief Episode 27

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week.

Scandal-hit oil trader GP Global is seeking court intervention to stop creditors in Singapore “stealing a march” on banks that are owed millions of dollars.

The Libyan central bank’s letter of credit system may have been exploited for “fraud on a large scale”, researchers say.

The annual GTR Mena event returned (virtually) on February 15-17, to reflect on an eventful year for global trade and developments in the Middle East and North Africa. We assess some of the main takeaways and key insights. 

In other news, pressure is growing for UK and US companies to shift supply chains out of Xinjiang following recent measures by both governments to crack down on imports of goods linked to the Chinese region.

Meanwhile, we also take a closer look at Singapore’s decision to adopt into its own domestic legislation the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records.

Music credit to Kevin MacLeod for his track Loopster, taken from incompetech.com. Licensed under creative commons by attribution 3.0 license. Further music credit to Sunrise Drive by South London HiFi. Licensed under creative commons Attribution 4.0 License. Music promoted by CopyrightFree.org

GTR News Brief Episode 26

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week.

After months of deadlocks, the World Trade Organization has named Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as its seventh director general.

Global commodity trader Trafigura is set to secure a new sustainability-linked revolving credit facility as it works to cut its carbon footprint and boost renewables.

According to the International Maritime Organization, the number and severity of attacks on vessels by pirates in the Gulf of Guinea are increasing, posing a threat to global trade and the safety of seafarers working in the region.

Meanwhile, there are warnings that illicit metals trading is proving even more lucrative than cocaine to South America’s criminal gangs.

Reporter Maddy White also provides a closer analysis of the coup in Myanmar and how it’s impacting foreign businesses based there.

Music credit to Kevin MacLeod for his track Loopster, taken from incompetech.com. Licensed under creative commons by attribution 3.0 license. Further music credit to Sunrise Drive by South London HiFi. Licensed under creative commons Attribution 4.0 License. Music promoted by CopyrightFree.org

GTR News Brief Episode 25

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week.

US authorities say companies in Iran are using forged shipping documents, vessel impersonation techniques and UAE-based front companies to circumvent sanctions and export oil.

Singapore has become the second country after Bahrain to adopt into its own domestic legislation the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records.

Dialogue Exchange has created a set of free, open common standards for single credit risk insurance, as part of wider efforts to bring the market into the digital age.

Elsewhere, foreign businesses and investors that bet on a democratic Myanmar have been left rattled and are exiting the country.

Senior reporter John Basquill also provides a closer analysis of a major story from last week, and explains how the UAE is looking to shed its reputation as a financial crime hotspot.

Music credit to Kevin MacLeod for his track Loopster, taken from incompetech.com. Licensed under creative commons by attribution 3.0 license. Further music credit to Sunrise Drive by South London HiFi. Licensed under creative commons Attribution 4.0 License. Music promoted by CopyrightFree.org

GTR News Brief Episode 24

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week.

Rabobank plans to streamline its trade and commodity finance offering by terminating operations in London, Shanghai and Sydney, GTR can reveal.

Pressure is mounting against fintech firm Triterras over the transactions taking place on its blockchain-based trade finance platform Kratos.

In its 16^th annual Global Risks Report, the World Economic Forum has stressed the inequalities and challenges that countries and their exporters face in their recovery from the pandemic.

Senior reporter John Basquill also provides a closer analysis of a new Make UK and PwC report looking at British manufacturers’ main risks this year, and explains why the new UK-EU trade agreement ranks top of their concerns.

Music credit to Kevin MacLeod for his track Loopster, taken from incompetech.com. Licensed under creative commons by attribution 3.0 license. Further music credit to Sunrise Drive by South London HiFi. Licensed under creative commons Attribution 4.0 License. Music promoted by CopyrightFree.org

 

GTR News Brief Episode 23

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week.

British manufacturers say that adapting to a new trading relationship with the EU poses the greatest risk to their 2021 business plans, despite the two parties agreeing a last-gasp trade deal in late December.

Bankers have told GTR that if the newly rolled out African Continental Free Trade Area is to be successful, countries must address more nuanced non-tariff barriers and build regional value chains.

In other news, legal experts say they don’t expect an easing off of US sanctions penalties under the incoming Biden administration.

Meanwhile, reporter Maddy White provides analysis of GTR’s most read stories in 2020, in what proved to be a chaotic year for trade and trade finance.

Music credit to Kevin MacLeod for his track Loopster, taken from incompetech.com. Licensed under creative commons by attribution 3.0 license. Further music credit to Sunrise Drive by South London HiFi. Licensed under creative commons Attribution 4.0 License. Music promoted by CopyrightFree.org

GTR News Brief Episode 22

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week.

International banks are being urged to cut ties to three meat trading companies in Brazil, after an anti-corruption investigation accused the trio of contributing to deforestation in the Amazon.

As US President-elect Joe Biden readies to enter the White House next month, one topic he will need to address is the tough economic sanctions imposed on Iran by the Trump administration, which has crippled the Middle Eastern state’s economy.

In other news, trade finance products are being exploited by criminal groups to launder funds and support terrorist activity, according to a landmark report from an influential financial crime standards-setting body.

Meanwhile, fintech company MonetaGo has partnered with Singapore-based trade technology platform GUUD to implement its trade finance fraud prevention solution across Asia.

Senior reporter John Basquill also provides a closer analysis after banks in Singapore unveil tougher commodity finance standards.

Music credit to Kevin MacLeod for his track Loopster, taken from incompetech.com. Licensed under creative commons by attribution 3.0 license. Further music credit to Sunrise Drive by South London HiFi. Licensed under creative commons Attribution 4.0 License. Music promoted by CopyrightFree.org

GTR News Brief Episode 21

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week.

Singapore’s High Court has sided with Goodwood Associates in a dispute with another oil company over a missed US$1.5mn payment.

In a new statement, development banks have pledged to change their trade finance activities to help achieve the UN’s sustainable development goals, but have avoided hard transition targets for fossil fuel financing.

JP Morgan has become the first validation agent in the global legal entity identifier system, after the role was created last month.

Meanwhile, guest interviewee Louis Taylor, UKEF's chief executive, discusses the various ways export credit agencies have reacted to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Music credit to Kevin MacLeod for his track Loopster, taken from incompetech.com. Licensed under creative commons by attribution 3.0 license. Further music credit to Sunrise Drive by South London HiFi. Licensed under creative commons Attribution 4.0 License. Music promoted by CopyrightFree.org

GTR News Brief Episode 20

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week.

Executives from Vitol and Trafigura have said their access to trade finance remains strong, despite bank nervousness following a string of fraud scandals in Singapore’s commodities sector.

A new government inquiry has found that the Department for International Trade and UK Export Finance are “not yet doing enough to identify and help the businesses of tomorrow to export”.

US authorities have imposed sanctions on a Singapore-based energy trader, accusing it of breaching restrictions on trade with Iran by purchasing oil worth millions of dollars.

Reporter Maddy White also explains why US banks are more exposed to the financial risks associated with the transition to a lower carbon economy than they previously thought. 

Music credit to Kevin MacLeod for his track Loopster, taken from incompetech.com. Licensed under creative commons by attribution 3.0 license. Further music credit to Sunrise Drive by South London HiFi. Licensed under creative commons Attribution 4.0 License. Music promoted by CopyrightFree.org

GTR News Brief Episode 19

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week.

Companies may be required to disclose details of their supply chain finance programmes, after an influential US standards-setting body agreed to examine investor concerns over a lack of transparency.

US banks are more exposed to the financial risks associated with the transition to a lower carbon economy than they previously thought, a new report has found.

UN forecasts suggest global trade is undergoing a “frail recovery” after a major slump in Q2, with recovery boosted by surging Chinese exports and fresh economic activity in Europe and east Asia.

Senior reporter John Basquill also provides a closer analysis after two Hong Kong-based oil traders say banks have reacted to the fraud scandal in Singapore’s commodities finance sector by restricting credit to the wider market, resulting in substantial financial losses.

Music credit to Kevin MacLeod for his track Loopster, taken from incompetech.com. Licensed under creative commons by attribution 3.0 license. Further music credit to Sunrise Drive by South London HiFi. Licensed under creative commons Attribution 4.0 License. Music promoted by CopyrightFree.org

GTR News Brief Episode 18

Host Felix Thompson gives a breakdown of the major stories in trade and trade finance news this week.

Two Hong Kong-based oil traders say banks have reacted to the fraud scandal in Singapore’s commodities finance sector by restricting credit to the wider market, resulting in substantial financial losses.

In other news, the risk of sovereign default is growing across Africa because of higher debt levels and currency risk.

Elsewhere, we turn our attention to the US presidential race between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, and look at what the election result would mean for the country’s trade policy.

Meanwhile reporter Maddy White explains why the Belt and Road Initiative may hamper Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plans for his country to go carbon neutral by 2060.

Music credit to Kevin MacLeod for his track Loopster, taken from incompetech.com. Licensed under creative commons by attribution 3.0 license. Further music credit to Sunrise Drive by South London HiFi. Licensed under creative commons Attribution 4.0 License. Music promoted by CopyrightFree.org