Trade and commodity finance: recent developments and issues Omar Al-Ali and John Sayers 07 & 08 October 2015
Team and experience 1 / B_LIVE_EMEA1:2816398v1
Team John Sayers General Experience John is a partner in our London office and focusses on trade & commodity finance and the energy sectors. John advises regularly on ECA financings, structured letter of credit and guarantee issuance facilities, pre-export and pre-payment finance structures, and in relation to standard trade products such as letters of credit, bills of lading, warehouse warrants, insurance, bills of exchange etc. He also advises in relation to industrial and precious metal financings involving relevant commodity exchanges. John is included in the elite "Leading Lawyers" list for trade finance in the 2015 edition of Legal 500 UK and recommended in connection with investment grade & syndicated lending and emerging markets finance. Omar Al-Ali General Experience Omar is a partner in our London office with a particular focus on trade & commodity finance and emerging markets lending. Omar acts for banks, corporates and funds on a wide range of products, including borrowing base financings, pre-export financings, prepayment financings, warehouse financings, receivables financings and structured letter of credit and guarantee issuance facilities. He also advises in relation to trade instruments such as letters of credit, guarantees and indemnities and issues arising in the course of trade, such as the interpretation and application of the Incoterms. 2 / B_LIVE_EMEA1:2816398v1
Experience Key transactional experience of lawyers in the Simmons & Simmons trade & commodity finance practice includes: Advising MRI Trading AG on a USD110 million secured borrowing base facility to finance its metals concentrate storage, blending, sale and related margin financing operations in Malaysia and Oman. Advising the lenders on the enforcement of a secured borrowing base facility and the subsequent recovery process on the insolvency of a large European refinery group. Advising a leading commodities bank on an intermediated pre-export financing of the production and shipment of ethanol by a Brazilian exporter to a US company. Advising the lender on a revolving warehouse loan facility backed by trade receivables warehoused in three SPVs and involving 15 jurisdictions. Advising a syndicate of Chinese and European banks led by Barclays on the granting of an English law governed ECA-covered USD130 million facility to South African TMT group Telkom, supported by a Sinosure insurance policy Advising a bank on a trade finance facility for Hong Kong based Sinochem and its UK subsidiary Advising a bank on structured letter of credit transactions used to fund the cost of tanker transport for cargos of crude oil Advising a bank on its participation in a syndicated bills of exchange purchase facility for a Middle Eastern oil trading company Co-advising Castleton Commodities International LLC in connection with its USD3.75 billion committed borrowing base working capital facilities, which will fund general corporate purposes and finance the Company s acquisition of Morgan Stanley s Global Oil Merchanting business Co-advising Freepoint Commodities LLC in connection with its USD1.3 billion committed borrowing base facility, which finances the physical merchant activities in Freepoint s global commodities businesses Acting for a European based trading company on its prepayment facility and related security and offtake contract with a Chinese supplier of metallurgical coke Advising a bank in relation to the structuring of industrial metal commodity inventory financings and transit financings in and between various developed and developing markets jurisdictions Advising a leading commodities bank on its metal commodity repurchase terms with specified trading companies in over 25 London Metal Exchange (LME) and non-lme jurisdictions Advising a number of banks on cross-border trade receivables structured financings involving up to 10 jurisdictions Advising a range of international banks on their bilateral trade finance documentation, including for repurchase-style physical transactions, trade finance facilities, documentary credit and payment guarantee negotiation and support (disclosed and silent) 3 / B_LIVE_EMEA1:2816398v1
Overview 4 / B_LIVE_EMEA1:2816398v1
Overview Look back over the past 12 months at: Global events affecting trade & commodity finance Regulatory issues affecting trade & commodity finance Developments in trade & commodity finance English court decisions relating to trade & commodity finance 5 / B_LIVE_EMEA1:2816398v1
Global events 6 / B_LIVE_EMEA1:2816398v1
Global events affecting trade & commodity finance in the last 12 months Europe: Greek bailout and elections Russia-related sanctions and continued occupation of Ukraine Middle East IS continued occupation of Iraq/Syria Iran nuclear plan Africa Ebola in West Africa brought under control 7 / B_LIVE_EMEA1:2816398v1
Global events affecting trade & commodity finance in the last 12 months (cont.) Americas US and Cuba restore diplomatic ties Petrobras scandal rumbles on Asia China growth slows Global Commodity prices tumble 8 / B_LIVE_EMEA1:2816398v1
Regulatory issues 9 / B_LIVE_EMEA1:2816398v1
Regulatory issues affecting trade & commodity finance in the last 12 months TBML/Anti-terrorism Sanctions Basel III / CRD IV Dodd-Frank 10 / B_LIVE_EMEA1:2816398v1
Developments 11 / B_LIVE_EMEA1:2816398v1
Developments in trade & commodity finance in the last 12 months BPOs and e-bills of lading ITFA/BAFT legal opinion on MRPAs in satisfaction of art 194 of CRDIV US Ex-Im s authority lapses ICC Global Export Finance Committee launch ICC DOCDEX Rules published BAFT guide on letters of credit and demand guarantees in the oil and gas industry published 12 / B_LIVE_EMEA1:2816398v1
Court decisions 13 / B_LIVE_EMEA1:2816398v1
Noteworthy English court decisions relating to trade & commodity finance in the last 12 months Citi v Mercuria PST Energy v OW Bunker Taurus Petroleum v SOMO 14 / B_LIVE_EMEA1:2816398v1
Questions? 15 / B_LIVE_EMEA1:2816398v1
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