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May
HSBC has launched a AED1 billion trade fund for SMEs in the UAE open to new and existing customers with cross border trading requirements.
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BMO Financial Group has opened a representative office in Abu Dhabi and becomes the first Canadian bank with an onshore presence in that market.
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UAE-based Mashreq has upgraded its trade and working capital facility for small businesses.
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April
The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority has shelved its Hassyan independent power project just as it was scheduled to announce a winning bidder.
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The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation has inked its first structured trade finance facility with the Moroccan public sector.
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Swiss-based Hinduja Bank raids Geneva trade banks for five senior trade financiers.
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Oman Trading International has closed a new borrowing base facility with a club of international banks.
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Helen Castell talks to EMEA short-term trade financiers and finds them particularly active, innovative and un-phased by the talk of crises and default.
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OPIC and Garanti Bank have agreed financing terms to support SME borrowers in Turkey.
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March
Banks have signed the largest export credit agency-backed corporate financing ever in Saudi Arabia for Saudi Electric’s Rabigh VI power project.
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DMCC Tradeflow, the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) web-based registry for commodities stored in warehouses, reports more than 100 pledges since February 2012.
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ING Capital closes pre-delivery payment facility for Israeli airline El Al – with ultimate repayment through a US Ex-Im financing.
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The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) has agreed to provide a guarantee for yen-denominated foreign bonds issued by the Turkish government in the Japanese market.
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Royal Air Maroc, the Moroccan airline, has used an Export-Import Bank of the United States (US Ex-Im) guaranteed loan to finance the two Boeing narrow body aircraft.
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SWIFT instructed to disconnect sanctioned Iranian banks following EU Council decision.
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Dubai Investments is in talks with export credit agency Sace and regional lenders over the debt for its Emirates Float Glass factory expansion in Abu Dhabi.
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The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) is financing the import of petroleum and other strategic commodities by the Egyptian authorities.
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Turkish Airlines has mandated three banks to arrange a Euler Hermes-guaranteed euro-denominated loan to finance three A330s.
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Award-winning trade finance transactions from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, signed in calendar year 2011 – as selected by the Trade Finance Magazine editorial team.
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February
For the first time the government of Dubai has tapped export credit to fund the landmark Al-Sufouh tram project.
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Citi arranges financing for UAE carrier Etihad Airways to purchase a Boeing 777-300, with US Ex-Im capital markets option.
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The Turkish government has confirmed its export credit agency will offer long-term financing for Libyan and Tunisian firms looking to procure Turkish equipment.
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SMBC appoints ex-RBS banker to manage the bank’s export and agency finance business in the EMEA region.
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Dubai Multi Commodities Centre has launched DMCC Tradeflow to electronically bring together inventory-based financing parties.
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Sadara Chemical Company is hosting a series of meetings with ECAs for the financing of its integrated chemicals plant in Jubail, Saudi Arabia.
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Trade finance boutique Falcon Group has appointed a new head of global trade sales management.
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After Jordan’s National Electric Power Company selected Kepco to build and operate its IPP3 power plant, Kexim has been tipped fund a sizable portion of the debt requirement.
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Law firm Shearman & Sterling has hired an EMEA project finance specialist from Ashurst.
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January
Marsh has stated that it expects to see demand for short-term trade credit insurance continue to rise in 2012 among countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
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Barclays appoints new head of trade and working capital, Middle East.
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Jordan’s Investbank has established its second subsidiary – Al Imdad, ?specialising in trade finance and supply chain logistics for traders and manufacturers.?
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IFC signs trade finance agreement with Lebanon’s Credit Libanais to offer gurantees on import and export financing.
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The Egyptian carrier secured ECA financing for three aircraft in the fourth quarter of 2011.
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US Ex-Im has approved direct export financing for the world’s largest IPP to buy Siemens power generation equipment that supports North Carolina jobs.
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Export credit agencies are providing solid support to the bids to develop Dubai’s first independent power project as financing structures shift following the Eurozone crisis.
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Arab Banking Corporation has announced changes to the top management team at its key European subsidiary, ABC International Bank London.
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SMBC has appointed a new group head in Seoul and a new head of trade in Dubai.
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Baker Botts has hired a leading project, trade and Islamic finance Lawyer to join its Dubai office.
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IFC Capitalization Fund will invest in Omans’ BankMuscat to help increase access to finance for small and medium enterprises (SME).
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Jordan and Tunisia have become members of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) as part of the process of becoming recipients of EBRD investments.