sustainability

Your Monday morning coffee briefing from TFG, 18th September 2023.

Your Monday morning coffee briefing from TFG, 11th September 2023.

Over the last couple of years, we have seen an escalating development of digitalising trade. Fuelled by the obvious benefits, such as reduction of funding, courier, and administration costs, as well as the safety and speed of transferring trade documents digitally. 

Transitioning from documents to pixels, from cash to virtual payment gateways, and from local markets to international ones, the sweeping transformation of global trade into the digital world is redesigning the trade finance ecosystem. The alliance between ClearEye and J.P. Morgan represents the metamorphosis of the future of trade finance digitisation.

In this episode of Trade Finance Talks, TFG’s Deepesh Patel was joined by Shirish Wadivkar, Global Head – Wholesale Payments & Trade Strategy at Swift, to uncover the conference’s core themes, the latest Swift initiatives, and strategies to prepare for Sibos 2023.

ADB’s flagship Trade Finance Gaps Survey returns for its eighth edition, confirming expectations that the global trade finance gap – unmet demand for trade financing – has worsened, reaching  $2.5 trillion, an increase of 47% since the last stock-taking which pegged the gap at $1.7 trillion in 2020. 

In its largest single-period increase since its inception, the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) latest Trade Finance Gaps, Growth, and Jobs Survey indicates that the trade finance gap in 2022 rose to $2.5 trillion, up from $1.7 in 2020 and $1.5 trillion in 2018.

The FIT Alliance, formed of BIMCO, DCSA, FIATA, ICC, and Swift, has initiated the “Electronic Bill of Lading Declaration” to enhance the efficiency, reliability, sustainability, and security of global trade through the use of electronic Bills of Lading (eBLs).

Your Monday morning coffee briefing from TFG, 28th August 2023.

In the wake of the pandemic, the global economy has seen a confluence of challenges, including geopolitical risks, interest rate changes, and commodity price fluctuations.

From payments, credit and lending, to trade and supply chain finance, the entire financial services industry is being disrupted. Regulatory requirements, industry standards and the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) agenda have accelerated.

90% of world trade – from bulk raw commodities to breakbulk and finished goods – is moved on approximately 60,000 trading ships, crewed by about 1.5 million seafarers. To most traders, the potential risks associated with any one of these vessels is an unknown.

Your Monday morning coffee briefing from TFG, 21st August 2023.

In part 1 of this interview, Morgan Lépinoy, Managing Director of Viatrans broke down how container deposits are creating deep structural issues for the shipping and logistics industry in Africa, and what Viatrans is doing to help mitigate these challenges.

Although there is widespread support for ESG initiatives and a large proportion willing to prioritise positive environmental and social impacts over financial returns, Standard Chartered’s research reveals that many companies still haven’t made concrete sustainability commitments or set targets.