Global Trade Review (GTR)

2024 has been a dynamic year for trade, characterised by technological innovation, geopolitical and economic shifts, and regulatory change. Charley Zhang, Head of Trade & Working Capital APAC at J.P. Morgan, looks ahead to what next year could bring for financial institutions and corporates involved in trade.

Law firm HFW has bolstered its London-based commodities practice with the hire of disputes specialist Anna Fomina as partner. Fomina joins after more than five years at Clyde & Co, where she most recently held the position of legal director, based in the UK. Prior to that role, she spent more than a decade at Inco & Co in Dubai.

Tanzania’s largest lender CRDB Bank has secured a US$150mn syndicated term loan package from a pool of banks that will support its plans to drive funding into Africa’s commodities export sector. Intesa Sanpaolo and Investec Bank serve as joint bookrunners and lead arrangers, while Mauritius Commercial Bank is the facility agent.

The Access Bank UK has bought a majority stake in Mauritian lender AfrAsia Bank, as part of a strategy of expansion in Africa. Access Bank UK, a subsidiary of Nigeria’s Access Holdings, says in a statement it plans to leverage Mauritius “as a strategic hub for trade finance, wealth management, and corporate banking services”.

Record Asset Management has announced plans to launch a shariah-compliant deep-tier supply chain finance fund in partnership with OWI Group and Khalij Group. RAM, a European subsidiary of UK-headquartered asset management firm Record Financial Group, says it will manage the fund with support from Islamic investment and advisory firm Khalij, also based in the UK.

Is your company the best #tradefinance bank in the region? Does your organisation deserve recognition as a leading player in your industry? Nominate your company to the GTR Awards for the chance to win a GTR Leaders in Trade award. There are over 25 categories for banks and industry services provider to choose from! Full information and submission criteria for the awards can be found at www.gtreview.com/gtrawards, or download the media kit below. ?Download the media kit: https://lnkd.in/e8d3U6jh ?? Submissions deadline: January 17, 2025 Leaders in Trade winners will be announced at GTR’s annual awards dinner in #London on June 26, 2025. We look forward to receiving your submissions! #GTRAwards #GTRLeadersinTrade #GTRBestDeals #LeadersinTrade #Bestdeals #TradeFinanceAwards #TradeFinanceServiceProviders

The two-week-long UN Climate Change Conference (Cop29) ended last week with a contentious pledge by wealthy countries to increase climate finance. While the commitment was criticised by developing nations as insufficient, objections from some of the world’s richest nations meant there was nearly no agreement at all. This fragile compromise may have dominated headlines, but it was far from the only development from the conference. GTR examines the main trade-related discussions and outcomes from Baku. Story here: https://ow.ly/5ipj50UgHwT

Dubai-headquartered bank Mashreq and British International Investment have signed a US$50mn trade finance agreement aimed at boosting imports and exports in South Asia and Africa. The deal, announced this week, will see Mashreq and the UK’s development finance institution share risk on transactions in Angola, Bangladesh, Benin and C?te d’Ivoire, as well as other markets in the coming year. Full story here: https://ow.ly/LBck50UgHIZ

That’s a wrap! Thank you to everyone who joined us for GTR Nordics! A special thanks our excellent event chair, our specialist speakers and our supporters who contributed to a thought-provoking day of discussion and high-level networking in #Stockholm. Stay tuned for our post-event wrap up email, the event photos and the conference highlights video, which will be available soon! For now, GTR will take a short break before returning in the new year for our next set of events, including: ? January 21-22 - GTR Training 2025 Integrating ESG Risk into Commodity Trade Finance ? February 18-19 - GTR MENA 2025 Dubai ? March 13-14 – GTR Africa 2025 Cape Town ? April 24-25 – GTR West Africa 2025 Lagos ? April 29 – GTR Future-Proofing Trade Finance ? May 14 – GTR India 2025 Mumbai ? May 21-22 – GTR East Africa 2025 Nairobi ? June 12 – GTR UK 2025 London In the meantime, don't miss your chance to read our latest Supply Chain Issue. Visit https://lnkd.in/ef6aVCpD to view this as well as past issues!

Welcome to #GTRNordics in #Stockholm! We are delighted to see you all and are looking forward to discussing the latest insights on the evolving opportunities and challenges impacting Nordic #trade, #export and #supplychain #financing. Here’s what we have lined up this morning: ??? David McCandless will open the day by delivering this year’s keynote address on the significant trends impacting global business. ?? Katrine Kielos (Svenska Dagbladet), Samu Slotte (Danske Bank), Anja Hannerz (Nordea) and Anders Klinkby (Position Green) will discuss the headline issues impacting fixed investment, trade demand and supply chain operations across the corporate sector. We hope you are all able to gain invaluable insights and build crucial market connections today! Join in on the conversation by using #GTRNordics #TradeFinance #ExportFinance #SupplyChainFinance #NordicTrade