World finance

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.

Late Tuesday afternoon, Fitch downgraded the United States’ credit rating from AAA to AA+, to the surprise of many experts. This downgrading is the latest domino to fall in what has been a drama filled 2023 for the United States and its divided government. 

Central Asia is becoming increasingly attractive to investors. It has abundant natural resources and is strategically located, leading to its reputation as a region with untapped economic potential.

One of the difficulties related to international trade is the large volume of paper documents that make up much of the information flow between the different parties, including various documents such as invoices, bills of lading, certificates of origin, and customs declarations. 

After years of dealing with the oppressive clouds of COVID-19, the world has since experienced the bloodiest land war in Europe since World War II, inflation levels unseen since the 1980s, rising interest rates, and large scale political instability across all regions. And now, a looming debt crisis in the US.

The United States Dollar has been the de facto global currency for the better part of the past century. While rhetoric questioning its longevity in this role has been around for decades, the past year has seen more leaders of rapidly emerging economies beginning to question why it still needs to be this way.

As more companies look for ways to expand into new markets, surety bonds provide a valuable safeguard and financial advantage.

Trade sanctions are among the many tactics resorted to by the international community in order to compel a state to comply with its human rights obligation. 

The arguments for digitalising trade processes are well known. Paper-based processes are inefficient, error-prone, and subject to frequent delays––particularly in times of disruption. 

Reflecting back on key themes from the ExCred International 2022 conference in London, it is clear that the uncertainty of globalisation, driven by geopolitics, is a hot topic in today’s world. 

In this article, Ed Lam and Pamela Mar offer a roadmap to a digital future for supply chains and trade finance, with a focus on Asian SMEs

This article was co-authored by:

– Arun Prakash, strategy officer for trade and commodity finance at IFC
– Dennis Ochieng, economist at IFC
– Shanshan Li, consultant at IFC

Freeports are a special kind of air, rail, or seaport, where normal tax and customs rules don’t apply, says John Lucy, director of Liverpool City Region Freeport

The Bank of England (BoE) has raised its benchmark interest rate from 0.1% to 0.25%, in its first rate hike since August 2018.

British Chancellor Rishi Sunak has praised the level of financial cooperation that the G7 achieved under the UK presidency, which is coming to an end this year.