United Arab Emirates

TFG’s editor, Deepesh Patel, interviewed Nasser Al-Thekair, general manager of trade and business development at the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on Islamic Finance.

Trade and economic activity are advancing at a rapid pace across the Middle East. How are governments across the region evolving and harnessing opportunities to enable high-speed economic activity?

Your morning coffee briefing from TFG. World trade’s recovery from the COVID-19 crisis hit a record high in the first quarter of 2021, increasing by 10% year-over-year and 4% quarter-over-quarter. WTO Director General calls for action on trade finance in low to middle-income countries.

The first estimates for the factoring industry worldwide in 2020 have been announced today by the FCI’s Peter Mulroy. Factoring declines were recorded in most regions except Asia Pacific.

Factoring, as an important method to extend credit, is a type of financial transaction where the creditor assigns its receivables to an assignee at a discount. In recent years, there has been a large growth of factoring transactions around the world.

Your Monday morning coffee briefing from TFG. The WTO is forecasting growth in global merchandise trade of 8.0% this year following a contraction of 5.3% in 2020.

Your Monday morning coffee briefing from TFG. A container ship ran aground, blocking the Suez Canal which carries about 12% of global maritime trade. The blockage may take some time to clear, further disrupting global shipping, already beset by high freight costs and delays caused by the pandemic.

2021 is likely to witness an acceleration of ongoing geopolitical shifts, while some emerging markets may experience significant growth tailwinds

As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded in the first quarter of 2020, governments around the world were forced to take drastic actions to counter the socio-economic challenges posed by the crisis.

Oswald Kuyler, Managing Director of ICC DSI talks to TFG about promoting digital trade, harmonisation and trade standards.

All the insights from the first day of the biggest trade finance event in the MENA region.

London. 29th February 2021. TFG are delighted to announce their partnership with GTR MENA Virtual 2021. The virtual event will take place from February 15-17th with a physical event on September… read more →

City Bank has become the first Bangladeshi bank to execute a cross-border Letter of Credit (LC) transaction under a Shariah-based financing arrangement executed using blockchain technology.

Freight forwarding, shipping and logistics are undergoing a digital makeover. Connecting the dots, enabling traceability and increasing transparency between parties is a win-win for all actors within global trade. So who’s doing what? As part of TFG & WTOs 2020 Blockchain for Trade study, 7 initiatives in this supply chain space have been mapped.

Now is the time for trade finance institutions to take the lead in efforts to strengthen SME resilience and leave them in a position to be able to bounce back in the aftermath of the pandemic.