Trade & Supply Chain

NEWSMAKERS: NIGERIA   By Valentina Pasquali   A 61-year-old Nigerian oil tycoon is now the richest black woman in the world, having recently overtaken American entertainment mogul Oprah Winfrey for the title.   Her name is Folorunsho Alakija and she ...

OIL GLUT   By Gordon Platt   High oil prices have enabled the Middle East’s major oil producers to finance infrastructure investments despite the global slowdown. But the jig might soon be up.   With its massive inflow of oil-export ...

NEWSMAKERS: US   By Valentina Pasquali   Ford Motor Company recently unveiled a two-year succession plan geared toward a full management reshuffle by 2014. The centerpiece of this arrangement was the appointment of Mark Fields as chief operating officer, effective from ...

THE STARS ALIGN   By Rebecca Brace   As treasurers seek to optimize liquidity and working capital, cash and trade solutions are increasingly in sync.   Treasury and trade used to be two separate disciplines. But in recent years there ...

DOMINANT REGIONAL PLAYERS   By Kathryn Tully   Since 2002, Global Finance has honored the best trade finance banks by region and by country based on a number of criteria, including technological innovation, transaction volumes, global coverage, customer service and ...

HIGH TECH MEETS THE LAW OF INERTIA   By Paula Green   Treasurers wanting to move to high-end forecasting solutions still face an uphill challenge.   Even when a treasurer wants to move to a high-end system for forecasting cash, ...

First and foremost, it reduces administration and documentation, and vastly reduces the time-to-payment on secured trade account receivables. With an L/C at site it can typically take 10-14 days to receive funds—while awaiting documents to arrive. But with a BPO ...

Is trade becoming an asset class? Some market participants are pushing in that direction. This, of course, is easier said than done, but the cost of getting it wrong could be enormous. “Ultimately corporates pay the price,” said Kah Chye ...

  Gone are the days when companies wishing to connect directly with their banks via SWIFT had to invest huge resources—in time and money—house highly expensive equipment, and maintain IT resources to manage the connection. Although the connectivity entity’s first ...

The cost of cross-currency payments is more than it need be, contends Rocky Motwani, MD at J. P. Morgan. He noted that most cross-currency payments are done via wire, which is essentially a high-value solution to a low-value problem. “You ...

NEWSMAKERS: ARGENTINA     Miguel Galuccio is very busy these days. The new CEO of Argentine firm YPF is discussing possible joint ventures with Chevron, Gazprom and the Argentine firm Bridas—partially owned by China's CNOOC.   YPF aims to restore ...

DIFFFICULT CHOICES   By Antonio Guerrero   African oil producers stand to benefit from continued sanctions on Iranian oil exports. But their path is not without challenges.   As the US and EU tighten the screws on Iran, imposing sanctions ...

Best Supply Chain Finance Providers 2012     WORLD’S BEST BANKS : Best Foreign Exchange Providers 2012 Best Derivatives Providers 2011 Best Subcustodians 2012 Best Islamic Financial Institutions 2012 Best Treasury & Cash Management Providers 2012 Best Trade Finance Banks ...

Best Trade Finance Banks 2012     WORLD’S BEST BANKS : Best Foreign Exchange Providers 2012 Best Derivatives Providers 2011 Best Subcustodians 2012 Best Islamic Financial Institutions 2012 Best Treasury & Cash Management Providers 2012 Best Investment Banks 2012 Best ...

ASIA'S POWER NEXUS   By Arthur Clennam   I ndia relies on Indonesian coal to power its utilities, and both nations face huge increases in coal-fired power demand. But bureaucratic red tape makes it difficult for either nation to increase ...

TO HAVE AND TO HOLD   By Rebecca Brace   Corporates are hoarding record levels of cash, but with counterparty risk increasing in the banking sector, FDIC coverage changing and money market funds looking risky, where can they park their ...

EXPEDITING GROWTH   By Anita Hawser   Trade flows between Latin America and Asia are growing at a phenomenal pace. An increasing number and variety of banks and other agencies are providing liquidity and trade finance solutions to nurture these ...

MILESTONES: COLOMBIA   By Dan Keeler   Three months after its free-trade agreement with the United States went into effect, Colombia is already reaping the benefits, in terms of investment, export growth and job creation.   González, Proexport Colombia: Colombia's ...

A BUMPER YIELD   By Justin Keay   Agribusiness is increasingly being viewed as a dynamic area to invest in. But as global demand for food supplies and land increases, can banks, often criticized for their short-term outlook, meet the ...

WHO’S WHO   Global Finance’s annual list of Who’s Who in Treasury & Cash Management   Bank of America Merrill Lynch Paul Simpson Head of global transaction services   Paul Simpson joined Bank of America Merrill Lynch in May 2011 and ...