denotes premium content | Jan 7 2009 Trade & Forfaiting Review magazine archive
Volume 5 Issue 2
Features
Capacity for terror
Following the events of September 11, there is likely to be less insurance capacity, higher rates and a more difficult trade finance market. Thomas Wells is a managing director of The Structured Trade Group LLC in Houston, a member of Newstead Group International, an alliance of trade finance specialists with members in Chicago, New York, and London.
Challenging performance bonds
A recent judgment in the English courts has raised important issues concerning the circumstances in which a bank can refuse payment under a performance bond where fraud is alleged. Richard Gwynne, partner at Stephenson Harwood in London, outlines the case and its implications.
Coface @rating country ratings update
Coface, the leading export credit insurer, launched its @rating country ratings in February 2001. Accessible free of charge through www.cofacerating.com, this service provides regularly updated ratings for 140 of the world's most important trading nations and aims to help companies find out where they can trade safely in the world.
Easing the world economic slowdown
Ivor Tucker is director, trade finance group, for GCMS Europe Ltd, a member of the Rotch Group of companies. GCMS specialises in providing innovative financial solutions to multinationals that seek to expand sales activities into markets affected by political, currency and other risks. Contact GCMS at info@gcmseurope.com
Mutiny among membership
Budapest just hosted the annual forfaiting conference for 2001. The event came far too soon on the heels of the dreadful events of September 11 to offer any constructive opinion on trade's prospects in the face of potential war and further terrorist attacks. But the proceedings did witness something of an upset involving the board of the International Forfaiting Association and some of its members. Rupert Sayer was there as a neutral observer.
September 11 overrides all else
The LTP Trade Finance Index from LTP Risk Management gives its September performance update. Obviously the month was dominated by the events in the US on September 11.
Tested on rockets and now available elsewhere
A new joint programme between the Russian government and the World Bank has been launched to support investments and foreign trade in Russia. Elena Morozova works in the Guarantee Department of the Federal Centre for Project Finance in Moscow and explains more.
Uncertain times
Trade & Forfaiting Review took a straw poll among leading commodity, trade and export financiers to get a sense of how the market is coping with the international crisis and fears of a US-led recession. The responses were varied and a number of themes emerged. Perhaps the most positive of these was the fundamental resilience of the trade finance market and the hopes that market practitioners have that while other markets will be down for some time, this market will continue to be active despite international tensions. Philip Carter reports.
bank viewpoint: wake up? we already have!
It was barely a year ago when articles were urging banks to wake up (and quickly) to the internet challenge or risk losing their core business to ‘new players’ that could do it better, quicker and cheaper. So have the banks woken up, asks Martin Hodges, Manager, e-Trade, Corporate e-Commerce at The Royal Bank of Scotland in London?
e-business infrastructure: more than a meeting place
To succeed in today’s fast-paced global trade environment, companies must move beyond viewing e-business as an online meeting place to a model that allows them to execute online transactions reliably, securely and efficiently. Warren Fisher, Chief Operating Officer at TRADEPAQ Corp in New York City, elaborates. TRADEPAQ provides e-business infrastructure required for global trade, offering a framework for end-to-end automation of business processes addressing export, domestic, regulatory, payment, and logistics requirements in the internet economy.
e-logistics: fulfilling the demand to outsource
Danzas, part of Deutsche Post World Net (DPWN), is a leading global provider of IT-supported logistics solutions and is working on creating efficient customer-oriented e-business solutions for the entire supply chain. Ralph Leyendecker, Manager of Corporate eBusiness Development at DANZAS Management Ltd in Basel, Switzerland, sees a split when it comes to e-fulfilment to marketplaces and also sees a growing place for outsourcing logistics services.
e-marketplaces: marketplace mythology
John Thorpe, President of Ventro Europe, dispels some of the myths surrounding B2B marketplaces. Ventro is a builder and service provider to online marketplaces.
interview: Marrakech misses the middleman
Marrakech’s internet-based solution to e-commerce means organisations can immediately transact with each other online without investing in expensive software. Marrakech’s success depends on customers completing transactions online, so the company has a vested interest in seeing customers’ e-commerce project succeed, according to Kelly Murphy, its CEO.
maritime e-commerce: a corner turned - part two
George Chandler, Partner at law firm Hill Rivkins & Hayden, concludes his two-part look at the fundamentals of electronic commerce for international trade and transport. He is a member of the CMI International Subcommittee on Issues of Transport Law, the EDI Working Group, and CMI/UNCITRAL Group of Experts on Electronic Contracts of Carriage; and President of the Houston Maritime Arbitrators Association.
supply chain management: putting the 'e' into supply chains
When it comes to e-commerce, there are other ‘e’s to take into consideration than ‘electronic’. So claims Lou Ventino, Vice-President, Global Trade Compliance, at Oracle Corporation in Washington, DC. He looks at the issues of environment, education, effort and efficiency.
the new e-conomy: behind the jargon
There are many financial and other innovations helping to build the new e-conomy. But what is the reality behind the jargon and the hype? John Macdonald, Executive Vice-President, Sales and Marketing, at Orbian in New York, looks under the surface. Orbian combines finance, payment and settlement in one solution that allows companies to eliminate difficulties associated with traditional payment processes and improve financial aspects such as cashflow.
