Trade & Supply Chain

Is Basel III to blame for the $425 billion shortfall in trade finance in developing Asia? Some observers think so, but others say trade finance needs to go back to basics.

As third-quarter profits plunged 44%, US heavy equipment-manufacturer Caterpillar slashed its 2013 profit forecast for the third quarter in a row. Caterpillar is being hit with lower demand in nearly all its major business sectors, but about three-quarters of the drop in sales were the result of lower sales of mining equipment.

There is a new definition of the emerging markets and their characteristics that confutes many old and accepted axioms; for example, the idea that the cost of labor is cheaper in developing countries, or that governance is more advanced and regulations are more enforced in developed countries.

MILESTONES By Gordon Platt The presidents of Colombia, Peru and Chile sat down to lunch with the economy minister of Mexico at a “CEO summit” in New York in late September. The four chatted amiably about the Pacific Alliance, their ...

MILESTONES By Luca Ventura With a fifth of the world’s population but only 9% of its land, China in recent years has aggressively upped its agricultural investments abroad, amassing over 2 million hectares of emerging markets farmland in Africa, Southeast ...

SPECIAL REPORT   By Erik Heinrich   Free-trade superblocs are being negotiated in North America, Europe and Asia. They will forever alter the flow of commerce and finance—and leave winners and losers in their wake.   The world is poised ...

The more things change, the more they stay the same. A cliché, to be sure, but one that rings true right now for corporate treasury & cash management. Companies continue to hold on to cash, as is abundantly clear in ...

IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT   By Hilary Johnson   Companies taking a best-practice approach to AP and AR management are seeing big cost savings and much-improved cycle times. But revamping processes is no mean feat.   Like other former back-office ...

REGIONAL REPORT: CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE — A MIXED BAG   By Justin Keay   Central and Eastern European countries are quite diverse in their performance of late. However, investors continue to lump them together when it comes to investments. ...

Global Finance ’s annual list of Who’s Who in Treasury & Cash Management   Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank Murali Subramanian Executive president and head of transaction banking   ADCB’s transaction banking division, which has won numerous industry accolades for cash ...

REGIONAL SUPERSECTION — SHALE OIL BOOM RATTLES GCC ECONOMIES   By Gordon Platt   As US shale oil and gas production continues to grow, it could have an impact on GCC economies over both the short and long term.   ...

MILESTONES   By Gordon Platt   At a time when economic activity in Russia has lost its momentum, the World Bank is elevating the country to high-income status.   According to the World Bank’s latest annual classification of the world’s ...

AT HAVEN’S END? Multinational corporations could have a much more difficult time shifting profits to low-tax jurisdictions—and deductions to high-tax ones—under new OECD rules. When Apple CEO Tim Cook testified in defense of the computer giant’s tax practices on Capitol ...

CFO INTERVIEW — A GLOBAL VIEW   By Denise Bedell   Nick Fanandakis, EVP and CFO of global agriculture, industrial bioscience and advanced materials company DuPont, sat down with Global Finance to discuss the firm’s growth strategy, resource allocation and ...

Mongolia, which has been growing at double-digit rates since the short recession that followed the global financial crisis, is struggling to find the right path in making use of abundant resources to improve the lives of its citizens, while providing a stable and fair business environment for investors.

THE NEW NORMAL By Hilary Johnson More companies than ever are launching supply-chain finance programs to reduce costs, ensure the stability of their supply chains and improve working capital efficiency. And growing competition among program vendors is making it easier ...

GOING GLOBAL AND MOBILE By Karen Kroll   Companies are increasingly using e-payments and looking at mobile channels. But moving money electronically cross-border can still be an issue.   The ways in which organizations are paying their suppliers and business ...

BRAZILIAN PORTS OPEN TO PRIVATE INVESTORS   By Antonio Guerrero   The Dilma Rousseff administration signed into law new regulations that open the country’s ports to greater private-sector investments.   Approved in June, the policies are expected to help attract ...

UNLOCKING HIDDEN POTENTIAL By Anita Hawser and Paula L. Green   Global Finance presents the winners of its annual awards for the Best Supply Chain Finance Providers globally and by region.   Five years have passed since the global financial ...

A GLOBAL CONNECTION   SWIFT’s annual Sibos conference is just around the corner, and this year attendees will gather in Dubai. With Middle Eastern companies following the trend now seen in many emerging markets and increasing the sophistication of their ...