Trade Finance Talks

The Transatlantic Trade Love Triangle

The United States and the European Union are the two most integrated trading blocks in the world, having increased their economic interdependence with the linkages in global supply chains, e-commerce, and investment. 
The trade flows between the two partners account for a third of world trade flows, totalling more than £1 trillion in 2019, and the two account for more than half of global foreign direct investment.
Yet this triangle of trade has gone through a lot recently. With the UK leaving the EU, the current political stance of the US administration, and the increasing role of China in the global economy changes the dynamics of these three trading blocs, and the position of the UK post-Brexit.
So what’s next for this powerful trio? TFG heard from Elitsa Garnizova, Senior Project Manager and Researcher, London School of Economics on the current updates and what we can expect in this UK-EU-US economic relationship.
Full article here: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/podcast-s1-e50-the-transatlantic-trade-love-triangle/

The misuse of payables finance - Global Supply Chain Finance Forum (GSCFF) Commentary

The supply chain finance technique of payables finance is regarded by the industry as a useful and beneficial tool for both buyers and suppliers. Yet recently, it’s come under significant scrutiny by the press, financial Ombudsman, and various regulators around the world. Add to this, the financial distress wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic, with SMEs tending to be the first to feel the effects of financial crises. Peter Mulroy, Secretary General of FCI, Stacey Facter, SVP of Trade Products at BAFT, and Christian Hauscher, Chairman of the Global Supply Chain Finance Forum and Product Manager for Trade and SCF EMEA at Deutsche Bank, discussed why payables finance remains a force for good.
Full article and report here: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/podcast-s1-e49-misuse-of-supply-chain-finance-worrying-but-not-widespread-says-gscff/

Customs, the BOM and Ro-Ro - What Next for the UK?

The Coronavirus Pandemic has quite rightly been the key focus for governments around the world in recent months, but that doesn’t mean the UK’s exit from the European Union has taken a backseat.
Seems like quite a while ago now, but as of February 1st this year, the UK Brexited the EU, and we are in the transition phase until the end of 2020. But when clocks chime midnight at the New Year, the way exporters and importers trade with the EU will change significantly. There are implications for customs and declarations, changes at the ports, documentation, and various checks.
The information provided is often quite overwhelming, so in this podcast, we are catching up with an expert in these areas – Institute of Export & International Trade’s Kevin Shakespeare.

Separating cat pics from invoice scans - the role of artificial intelligence in global trade

Among the oldest areas of financial services, trade finance always held a central position within international trade, with 80 to 90% of transactions being financed by some form of credit, guarantee or insurance.
 
However, the sector is one of the most manual and paper-based of the whole industry, resulting in expensive and error-prone operations with a slow processing time.
 
Emerging and new technologies have potential to address these problems, with the potential to transform the way these transactions are conducted. With that in mind, today I am joined by Arnaud Doly, CEO & Founder of Nabu.

The state of trade: tension, transition, and turning point. TL;DR on ICC’s Global Trade Survey

Banks remain fairly optimistic about the future of trade finance, according to ICC’s recently published annual global survey on trade finance.
 
In the words of ICC’s Secretary General John Denton, “The year 2020 has not unfolded as anyone would have anticipated.”  
As partners of this survey, TFG heard from Alexander Malaket, Chair of the Global Survey, joining from Toronto. We’ll be dissecting the Global Survey, highlighting the key takehomes and discussing what this means for trade finance.
 
Read more about the Global Survey here: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/breaking-banks-predict-up-to-30-decline-in-trade-flows-latest-icc-global-survey-on-trade-finance-shows/

'China Plus One' Strategy - Best of Both Worlds?

Trade in Asia is changing at an alarming pace. The US-China trade war continues to grind on, firms are now seriously thinking about their existing supply chain footprints, and understanding the importance of free trade agreements in and around APAC has never been more important.
TFG heard from Dr. Deborah Elms, CEO, Asian Trade Centre on the impact of COVID19 for businesses in Singapore and also more widely in Asia Pacific.
Full article and transcript here: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/podcast-s1-e45-china-plus-one-strategy-best-of-both-worlds/

WEF - The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Inclusive digital trade is the future

It's never been a more important time to recognise and accelerate the adoption of technology to help enhance, promote and ease global trade. 
Moreover, there are many challenges associated with the advancement of technologies, which are coinciding with the rapid emergence of: ecological constraints, the advent of increasingly multipolar international order and rising inequality. And to add to that, the economic and health impacts of the global pandemic Coronavirus have been huge. 
With that in mind, we were joined by the World Economic Forum’s Ziyang Fan, joining us from San Francisco.
Full article and transcript here: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/podcast-wef-the-fourth-industrial-revolution-inclusive-digital-trade-is-the-future/

ICC SOS – Save Lives. Save Livelihoods. Save Our SMEs

The coronavirus crisis has affected MSMEs disproportionately and has revealed their vulnerability to the supply and demand shock, particularly around liquidity and cash flow. It’s estimated that 40-60% of small businesses might not reopen after the Coronavirus pandemic. 200 million full-time job losses are expected between April and July 2020.
TFG heard from ICC’s Secretary General John Denton and talked about actions needed from governments, private sector leaders and international institutions to ensure the continued viability of our MSMEs.
Full article and transcript here: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/podcast-s1-e43-icc-sos-save-lives-save-livelihoods-save-our-smes/.

$5 trillion and counting - the MSME Finance Gap

Today we’re talking about micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and their importance in real-world economic growth, job creation, and innovation.
Creating opportunities through MSMEs, particularly in emerging and developing markets is crucial, as it can help advance economic development and reduce poverty.
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are one of the strongest drivers of economic development, innovation, and employment. Access to finance is often identified as a critical barrier to growth for MSMEs. Creating opportunities for MSMEs in emerging markets is a key way to advance economic development and reduce poverty. 
However, there is an MSME financing gap, to the magnitude of over $5 trillion USD according to the IFC’s recent analysis by the SME Finance Forum. Some 200 million businesses worldwide need financing to invest, grow and create new jobs, and they account for 9 out of 10 of business, half of global GDP, and two-thirds of job worldwide.
We wanted to investigate this and discuss why governors, financiers, and private sector players need to come together to support developments in the MSME sector.
Following on from TFG’s recent announcement of an industry partnership with the SME Finance Forum, today I’m joined by their CEO, Matt Gamser. Transcript here: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/podcast-s1-e42-the-5-trillion-usd-msme-finance-gap-2/

Bitter Sweet: Global trade disruption and its impact on sugar flows

The ongoing impact of the global Covid-19 pandemic has severely impacted many businesses. Alongside the downfall of the oil industry and many others, we discuss the impact on a common commodity in everyone's household - sugar.
TFG is very delighted to hear from Tanya and Stephen of Czarnikow discussing in detail the impact of Covid-19 on sugar supply chains. Czarnikow buys, sells, and moves sugar, food ingredients, packaging, and ethanol around the world.
Full transcript and article here: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/podcast-s1-e41-bitter-sweet-global-trade-disruption-and-its-impact-on-sugar-flows/