RBS and Bank of China announced their first commodity transaction using the Bolero electronic trade finance platform, following deals executed by Japan’s Mizuho Bank in March and China CITIC Bank last November.
Cargill is increasing it use of electronic bills of lading [E B/Ls] to include agricultural shipments from South America. It also has designs for usage in Asia.
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.
Global trade flow volumes have declined in 2012, dwindling to $37.7 billion and registering 217 deals in the year. This is down from $40.5 billion and 593 deals recorded in 2011.
BHP Billiton has executed the first fully electronic document presentation under a letter of credit into China, but critics remain skeptical over the chances of wider adoption.
Indonesia July PMI reaches 51.4 with strong growth in new orders, HSBC economists show, but other regional manufacturing PMI numbers are dismal for July
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.