By adopting the Bolero platform, Beijing-headquartered China Minsheng Bank will be able to offer its import-focused clients the advantages of the Bolero platform’s straight-through processing technology, which radically reduces turnaround times for all parties while hugely improving security and operational efficiency. Using the Bolero platform, importers will achieve major efficiencies through the digitisation of documents, such as bills of lading and letters of credit.

Shi Jie, Vice President of China Minsheng Bank, said, “We are delighted to be entering into this partnership with Bolero, which will bring our clients all of the Bolero platform’s very important advantages in terms of speed and security. We are committed to facilitating the work of importers through innovation and see this agreement with Bolero as the first step in a long-term relationship that is likely to expand and deliver the same excellent set of benefits to our export clients.”

Ian Kerr, Bolero International CEO, said, “We are very excited to be partnering with such a significant institution as China Minsheng Bank, bringing their importing customers all the gains in speed, ease-of-handling and security for which we are known. For Bolero, it is yet another landmark that points to how we are at the centre of China’s trade revolution, leading the advance towards digitisation, greater efficiency and transparency. This should be the start of an excellent and rewarding relationship and we look forward to expanding our services to China Minsheng Bank’s exporting customers in due course.”

The post China Minsheng Bank partners with Bolero to slash transaction times for importers appeared first on International Finance.

1. Emerging Economic Free Zone (Investment offering) GCC 2016

2. Most Innovative Trade Free Zone, Oman 2016

SEZAD Deputy CEO Ismail Bin Ahmad Al Balushi  accepted the awards on behalf of the Authority. Speaking to IFM, he said, “It is an honour to win the two awards and be recognized by the international community. Innovation is in everything we do…starting with planning to promotion to CSR. We try to accommodate our clients’ requirements and whatever they need to do business. Location…outside the Strait of Hormuz is our main attraction. Secondly, service. We have a one-stop shop for clients.”

Watch the full interview.

Duqm Special Economic Zone (Duqm SEZ) has a prime geographical position in the heart of the Arabian Sea. It stands at the crossroads of Asia and Africa, both high-growth markets. It is the largest such facility in the GCC and is spread across 2,000 square metres. It has 8 sub-zones: logistics, tourism, industrial, port & dry dock, fishers’ zone, residential, education, airport zone.

Yahya Said Abdullah Al Jabri, Chairman of SEZAD, said, “Special Economic Zone Authority at Duqm is honoured and delighted to be recognized with awards for the best Emerging Economic Free Zone (Investment offering) GCC 2016 and Most Innovative Trade Free Zone, Oman 2016 by International Finance Magazine. As an innovative initiative by the government to push economic diversification and as part of our strategic goal, SEZAD aims to position Duqm SEZ as a premier investment destination to promote economic growth. We strongly believe that affirmation is great and confidence building, especially when it comes from an entity as distinguished as the International Finance Magazine. SEZAD certainly values the awards as a reflection of the dedication and commitment we put into developing the Duqm project. Thus, with Integrity and professionalism, we will continue endeavouring to provide superior services to our stakeholders. I am personally proud of the achievements of our entire team and certainly, this wouldn’t have been achieved without our valued stakeholders and their continuous support.”

The post Duqm SEZ wins two IFM awards appeared first on International Finance.

October 25, 2016: HMC Capital is a Latin American investment and financial advisory firm with offices in Chile, Brazil, Peru, Colombia and United States. With $5 billion under distribution (third party funds) and $1 billion under management, HMC provides investment opportunities to institutional and HNW clients. More than 60 professionals with local experience and market knowledge are spread out in its Latam offices, working on a day to day basis managing portfolios and looking for opportunities in the region.

With almost eight years of history as an independent company and five fully dedicated Partners coming from different financial institutions with more than 100 years of aggregate experience, HMC has developed a complete platform of third party products and strategies, and proprietary Latam products maximising the risk/return for its clients in the region and structuring ideas for niche investment opportunities in Latam markets.

Ricardo Morales, Partner and Chairman of HMC Capital

Its main businesses are Third Party Distribution, Asset Management, Private Banking and advisory & Placement. Claudio Guglielmetti, Partner and Head of Private Banking at HMC Capital, says, “There are tremendous opportunities in Latam capital markets. HMC has found some opportunities in this arena on the equity and credit side, contributing for example to develop the debt capital markets financing medium size companies and industries through its regional credit platform.” HMC’s vision for Latam markets involves the creation of solutions for investors, and contribution in the development and scalability of asset classes in the alternatives investment spectrum. In essence, HMC believes in innovating and generating value added strategies, which requires in-depth knowledge of the local markets and understanding investor’s portfolio needs and restrictions. It has been able to quickly identify emerging opportunities for their clients arising from their changing macro-environment, not only economic and financial but regulatory and legal, to which they are subject.

Claudio Guglielmetti, Partner and Head of Private Banking

“It has developed attractive investment strategies on a risk-return adjusted basis, focusing in areas where traditional sources of capital have not played a significant role. Despite a challenging environment in the region, there are significant opportunities in the development of capital markets, improvement of access to financing, and connecting investor’s capital to different segments of the economy,” says Daniel Dancourt, Partner and Head of Asset Management at HMC Capital.

Daniel Dancourt, Partner and Head of Asset Management

Francisco Dianderas, Partner and CFO

Francisco Dianderas, Partner and CFO of HMC, says, “Besides the fact that HMC has a team of competent professionals with extensive experience in the financial industry and the real sector. HMC allows their professionals to increase their opportunities of growing. This unique combination has allowed HMC to become one of the regional leaders in the development and supply of products for investors.”

Felipe Held, Partner and CEO of HMC Capital, says, “Latin America has been very challenging these past few years for investors. A lot of uncertainties around micro, macroeconomics and politics, have affected economic growth and expectations, and therefore have had an impact in markets’ performance. As we know, Latam economies are dependent on commodities such as metals, oil & gas and others, which have suffered due to the slowdown in the global economy, and particularly from China. Besides the fact that we have lived in a low growth scenario, we have also experienced low borrowing costs and great liquidity for a while creating a challenging environment for investors looking for returns and yields. We expect that this scenario to continue in the mid-long run.”

Felipe Held, Partner and CEO of HMC Capital

Ricardo Morales, Partner and Chairman of HMC Capital, adds, “HMC Capital has been unique in its focus, providing the best investment ideas and products to their clients in the alternative investments arena, which means mainly credit, real estate and private equity.”

The post Tapping the opportunities in Latam appeared first on International Finance.

Tim Evershed

December 10, 2014: There must be more sovereign sukuk issued by non-Muslim countries after the success of previous bond launches, delegates were told at International Finance Magazine’s EU Islamic Finance and Banking Summit in London on November 18-19.

Recent years have seen successful issue of sovereign sukuks from the non-Muslim governments of the UK, Luxembourg, South Africa and Hong Kong.

This year has been a landmark one in Europe for sovereign sukuk with the UK and Luxembourg governments breaking new ground. The UK’s issue was for £200mn and attracted orders of over £2bn from investors. It will pay out profits based on the rental income from three government-owned properties in lieu of interest.

Meanwhile, the Grand Duchy issued the first sovereign sukuk in Euros from a national government. It was €200mn and it was two and a half times over-subscribed.

Marco Lichtfous, Partner, Deloitte, said: “So far we have concentrated on the corporate side and the wholesale side. There’s a need for sovereign paper so the issue that has taken place can’t be a one-off and it can’t be the end of it. For Luxembourg, the programme is ongoing and it is more a matter of finding the right need for and the right opportunity rather than just shuffling money around. We want to use it to help the economy grow.”

It has taken a long time for national governments to catch up with the sovereign sukuk issued by the German Federal State of Saxony-Anhalt in July 2004. It was a €100mn issue, which matured in July 2009, had tenure of five years with the rate of return linked to the six-month Euribor and paying a margin of 100 basis points over the benchmark.

However, Richard de Belder, Partner at law firm Dentons, says that the UK’s first issue has changed the paradigm for sovereign sukuk in Europe. He said: “There has been a big shift in the issue of sovereign-issued sukuk. The UK’s commitment has been going on for quite a while, but it is just one part of a bigger picture.

“Vital impetus came from Eddie George, the ex-governor of the Bank of England, who had been shocked to find out that his Muslim neighbours could not find a sharia compliant mortgage. George’s view was that it was wrong that any UK citizen should have been excluded from being able to access such finance.

“There were tax and regulatory barriers to overcome. Regulatory changes have been made to create a level playing field. The aim is not to put Islamic finance ahead of other finance but to treat it equally. And changes to tax rules have eliminated double tax charges.”

“The UK government did not need to issue a sukuk in order to fund itself because the gilt markets provide more than enough. It did it because the Islamic finance industry had liquidity requirements.

“Issuing that sukuk sent out a message, and an important message too, that the UK is open to Islamic finance. And it also wants to see more corporate sukuk being issued.”

According to de Belder, the next UK sovereign sukuk is a work in progress and will most likely be aimed at an infrastructure project, such as social housing, possibly in conjunction with a local authority. Other opportunities being considered include projects that include export finance, student loans or takaful insurance.

The attractiveness of sovereign sukuk was again underlined on the first day of the conference when Turkey borrowed $1bn through its 10-year dollar-denominated sukuk issue.

Muammar Cakir, Head of Derivatives Market at Borsa Istanbul, told delegates: “It was a successful launch and we are very happy and excited. We believe it will encourage the corporate sector. It is a defining moment for the sukuk market.”

Related Stories:

Market for takaful in Europe is looking brighter

Spike in interest rates could hamper Islamic finance

The post More sovereign sukuk on the way appeared first on International Finance.

September 15, 2016: Avis Budget Group, a leading provider of vehicle rental services, announced it has agreed to purchase France Cars, a privately-held vehicle rental company based in France, to significantly expand its presence in the French market. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

This purchase will give Avis Budget Group the second-largest light commercial vehicle fleet in France. It is also a key step in affirming the company’s commitment to the local market, further increasing its ability to serve customers of all sizes, from entrepreneurs to multinationals to leisure travelers. The acquisition will add 8,000 cars, vans and light trucks to the Avis Budget Group fleet and will also add more than 60 locations to the Company’s rental network. France Cars generates vehicle rental revenues of approximately €60 million annually.

Mark Servodidio, President, International, Avis Budget Group, said, “We’re excited to announce our agreement to acquire France Cars.  We are committed to strengthening our presence in the local market, and this acquisition will complement our existing operations in the country. France Cars will bring a strong presence in the French local market business and a leading position in the light commercial vehicle segment.”

This transaction represents continued execution on Avis Budget’s strategy to expand its presence in urban and suburban markets within Europe. Last year, the Company acquired Maggiore Group, Italy’s fourth-largest vehicle rental business.

Thierry Jardin, Chief Executive Officer of France Cars, commented, “We are excited by Avis Budget Group’s commitment to acquire France Cars and are looking forward to working closely together.”

Closing of the acquisition is subject to consultation with France Cars’ employee representatives and customary conditions, including merger control clearance, and is expected to be completed prior to the end of 2016. This acquisition does not affect Avis Budget Group’s previously announced intention to repurchase $350 to $400 million of its stock in 2016.

The post Avis Budget Group to acquire France Cars appeared first on International Finance.

The post Tramonex selects Saxo Payments for cross border transfers appeared first on International Finance.

September 14, 2016: Provenir, provider of risk analytics solutions, announced that rent-to-own industry leader Rent-A-Center, Inc. has adopted Provenir’s hosted solution, Provenir Cloud, to support the processing of customer applications for lease purchase agreements in connection with its AcceptanceNow line of business.

“Provenir’s risk analytics and decisioning platform’s scalability and rich functionality provide significant value to Rent-A-Center’s growth plans and transformation,” said Mark Denman, EVP of AcceptanceNow at Rent-a-Center. “By implementing Provenir Cloud to process customer lease applications, we will increase speed, improve delivery and provide our customers better, faster access to our products and services.”

Provenir’s hybrid solution will provide Rent-A-Center with access to on-premises and cloud environments. It will sit in the heart of RAC’s processing workflow, acting as an orchestrating hub and connecting internal and external data with various rules and risk models.

“Provenir is committed to providing Rent-A-Center with a flexible, secure and scalable environment that ensures simplified maintenance for the users so that they can continue to deliver value to their customers while pursuing their growth strategy,” said Paul Thomas, Managing Director at Provenir.

The post Rent-A-Center adopts Provenir Cloud appeared first on International Finance.

May 10, 2016: KBL European Private Bankers (KBL epb), headquartered in Luxembourg and operating in 50 cities in Europe, announced its positive financial results for the 12-month period ending December 31, 2015.

KBL epb reported a group net profit of €81 million for 2015, up 22% from the previous year. Over the same period, group revenues rose slightly, reaching €548 million, compared to €539 million over the earlier 12-month period.

Core private banking assets under management rose by €3.7 billion to €49 billion, up 8%  as of December 31, 2015. Group assets under custody remained largely stable.

As of the same date, KBL epb’s Basel III core tier-1 capital ratio stood at 13.8%, demonstrating the group’s strong solvency position.

Yves Stein, Group CEO, KBL epb, expressed significant satisfaction with these results, which highlight the sustained performance of the group’s private banking activities across its pan-European footprint, despite an external environment characterised by historically low interest rates and volatile market conditions.

“KBL European Private Bankers continues to rise to the challenge of change,” he said. “At a time when our sector is consolidating, we are strengthening our footprint, enhancing our range of products and services, and, most importantly, demonstrating our enduring commitment to meeting the individual needs of each client we serve.”

Stein noted the important revenue contribution made last year by the group’s Institutional & Professional Services business line, which serves family offices, foundations, external asset managers and investment funds.

He also highlighted the positive performance of “Richelieu Investment Funds,” the group’s in-house fund range launched in January 2015, which attracted more than €525 million in net inflows last year.

The disclosure of the group’s positive 2015 annual results follows the recent signing of a preliminary agreement by KBL epb to acquire Amsterdam-headquartered Insinger de Beaufort – representing the group’s third acquisition in 18 months.

Subject to approval by the relevant regulatory authorities and additional stakeholders in the Netherlands, KBL epb intends to merge Insinger de Beaufort with Theodoor Gilissen, its wholly owned Dutch private banking unit.

“As we review our group’s many recent accomplishments,” Stein said, “we must also recognise that the first quarter of 2016 proved difficult for our sector, reflecting prevailing market conditions.

“Our group will nevertheless continue to make significant long-term investments, including strategic acquisitions, the enhancement our IT and Operations activities, and the training and professional development of our staff,” he said.

Stein concluded: “With the full support of our shareholder, our team of 2,200 professionals in 50 European cities remains focused on realising our vision to be recognised as a trusted partner and leading private bank everywhere we operate.”

The post KBL epb 2015 net profit rises 22% appeared first on International Finance.

Suparna Goswami Bhattacharya

July 28, 2016: Almost a month after the UK decided to exit the European Union, economists around the globe have come out with data suggesting that the referendum has had a mixed impact on the global economy with certain areas getting affected more than the others.

IHS Markit, a global insight company, in its report stated that Brexit will cut global economic growth by 0.1 per cent in 2016 and 0.4 per cent in 2017. Further, it will reduce growth in some of the world’s largest economies — UK growth to drop from 2.4 per cent to 0.2 per cent and Eurozone to drop to 1.1 per cent in 2017.

In the UK, it is expected to cause major economic and political uncertainty and will weigh down on business and household confidence and behaviour, thus dampening corporate investment, employment, and consumer spending.

Jaspreet Sehmi, senior economist, Dun & Bradstreet, feels that the UK economy is passing through the eye of a storm. With a new government at the helm trying to navigate the UK economy through previously unexplored territory, the journey ahead remains long and uncertain. “We expect the UK to enter a technical recession at some point between the second half of this year and the first half of 2017. Businesses are facing increased uncertainty, and anecdotal evidence suggests that firms are already scaling back investment and hiring plans,” says Sehmi.

In the Eurozone, the overall impact is likely to be negative, as any reduction in size of a single market makes it less valuable for those remaining in it. According to IHS Markit, the UK’s decision to leave will increase political instability and economic uncertainty in the Eurozone, weighing down on business and consumer confidence and activity. Additionally, Brexit has given momentum to other euro-sceptic political parties across the EU, some of whom also want a referendum on EU membership.

Tom Elliot, international investment strategist, deVere Group, says, “This makes it harder for governments to agree to a closer fiscal and political union which many economists believe is the call of the hour. This is illustrated by the difficulty in establishing a euro zone banking union.” Brexit is also likely to distract EU decision makers from core focus areas. The European Union should now be focusing on issues like the banking crisis (with Italian banks the current problem), migration, structural impediments to economic growth such as two-tier labour markets. These problems hinder EU’s ability to exert influence on the global stage, whether economically or politically, adds Elliot.

The Eurozone will also face a loss in competitiveness in manufacturing on the back of weaker GBP and increased uncertainty, potentially delaying investment decisions. “While sterling has remained weak, the swift formation of a new UK government has reduced volatility in financial markets, which should contain the negative impact on confidence going forward,” says Peter Vanden Hout, chief economist, Eurozone, ING.

The extent of the impact on Asia will largely depend on the outcome of the negotiations between EU and the UK. The principal transmission mechanisms of the Brexit shock to the region will come from trade, the financial sector and business confidence. Given the relatively small ties between the region and the UK, the shockwaves will reach Asia mainly via secondary channels.

Ricard Torne, head of economic research, FocusEconomics, says, “While shipments to the UK from Asia ex-Japan are relatively small (around 2.5%), those from the region to the Euro area are much larger and represent around 11% of the total exports. Therefore, the expected slowdowns in the Euro area following the Brexit vote, particularly in core countries such as Germany, will likely hurt Asia’s already-battered external sector.” Nevertheless, the impact on the region will be uneven. The countries which are more reliant on domestic demand, such as India, Indonesia and The Philippines, will weather the storm better than open economies like Korea and Taiwan. Financial hubs Hong Kong and Singapore will also feel the brunt due to heightened volatility in the financial markets, adds Torne.

Brexit will not impact US real GDP growth much in 2016, which is still forecast to be 1.9 per cent. “A relatively small proportion of US GDP growth comes from overseas trade, and the relative strength of the euro against the dollar year-to-date will offer American exporters some protection from any post-Brexit reduction in European investment spending and tourism,” says Elliot.

The post ‘Brexit will cut global economic growth by 0.1 per cent’ appeared first on International Finance.

June 13, 2016: Skyhigh Networks, the leading Cloud Access Security Broker, announced its successful deployment at Allied Irish Bank (AIB), giving the bank even greater ability to monitor and secure cloud adoption across its IT estate. In the wake of high profile data breaches in the banking industry, AIB also wanted to re-assure customers by proactively implementing new security policies to protect customer data in light of forthcoming industry regulations such as the EU General Data Protection Regulation.

AIB is the leading retail, SME and corporate bank in Ireland, and cloud services are essential to its plans for future growth due to their ease of use, speed and flexibility. Today, more than 630,000 customers use AIB’s award winning mobile banking app every month, with cloud services also used for collecting biometric log in and contextual data of customers, as well as a multitude of internal business operations.

Recognising the importance of cloud services and the need to future proof, AIB approached Skyhigh to identify its cloud services and their risks. As part of its initial assessment, Skyhigh identified a total of 2,500 cloud services in use and ranked each service by its data, legal, business and compliance risk profile as a means of assessing and mitigating potential threats.

“Protecting customer data is paramount to AIB,” said David Cahill, security strategy & architecture manager at AIB. “Times have changed, however, and cybersecurity no longer ends at the network perimeter. Employees are using a multitude of cloud services in order to do their job more effectively, something that we need to embrace if we’re to stay competitive in an increasing agile and digital world. Our initial step into cloud adoption security was therefore driven by needing to improve visibility into exactly which services were being used and how.”

AIB already has a well-defined and mature process to review and validate all external IT services and partnerships. Its Remote Access Forum (RAF) meets monthly to review requests and authorise requests for external connections and data flows. It has a defined checklist of requirements, multiple steps for provisioning, and a team that reviews and validates all external connections and approves them for use. By identifying and analysing cloud services, Skyhigh’s platform is now used to inform the RAF steering committee, helping AIB streamline the decision process for adding cloud services to the approved list.

“We sanction services like Box because they offer extremely high levels of usability, service and security. However, it’s not enough to simply buy a licence, we need to ensure they are being used and being used responsibly,” continued Cahill. “Skyhigh’s granular analysis of sanctioned IT means the right cloud services are being used for the right reasons. Something that’s easier said than done.”

AIB’s work with Skyhigh will continue to enhance business processes in the future. For example, if an AIB employee attempts to use an unauthorised cloud service today, it is not just blocked, instead it will inform the user saying why it’s unsafe and which app to use instead. Skyhigh’s granular analysis of AIB’s cloud network is also helping AIB refine its legacy IT infrastructure and experiment with advanced functionality such as cloud bursting.

“The financial sector is highly regulated but I guarantee that every leading bank in the world is using thousands of cloud services. Whether or not they know, it is another matter,” said Charlie Howe, VP EMEA Skyhigh Networks. “AIB is a great example of how banks can embrace cloud services and take proactive steps to adopt them securely, rather than just saying no to everything. Employees will just find another service if you ban them from one they want to use, which could well be a greater risk

The post Allied Irish Bank secures cloud use for 15,000 employees with Skyhigh Networks appeared first on International Finance.