A survey of China’s top companies reported a marked dissatisfaction with trade finance and liquidity management services, products they also ranked as among the most important, according to East & Partners.
Use of letters of credit (LC) for exports to Bangladesh surged 118% last year, compared with the previous 12 months. Increased trade with China is likely a key driver.
Australian treasurers and CFOs say Chinese counterparts are requesting more LCs are part of their trade negotiations. The LCs are allowing the Chinese firms to line up better financing rates offshore.
ANZ casts doubts over China's official data and analyses it with a fraud detection formula developed by twentieth century physicist Frank Albert Benford.
SWIFT payment data shows renminbi use is on the up, while a Deutsche Bank survey indicates strong European SME interest. However, enthusiasm for renminbi from China-based suppliers may actually be waning.
The British bank, HSBC, has hired Quang Buu Huynh from Vietnam to Hong Kong to run global trade and receivables business in an effort to drive trade revenue in the bank’s key markets.
Indicator of confidence in trade finance is modestly up in Asia, according to a recent study commissioned by HSBC, but it’s debatable how useful the index is.