9th Annual India Trade & Export Finance Conference

Event Review

Exporta, the global financial services information provider, were delighted to return to Mumbai for the 9th Annual India Trade & Export Finance Conference, which took place at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel on February 14, 2013.

The one-day conference, which attracted over 250 deleagtes, opened with a double keynote address by Mr. Hemant Contractor, MD & Group Executive, International Banking Group at State Bank of India (SBI), and Dr. Shubhada Rao, President and Chief Economist at YES BANK, who discussed India’s macroeconomic trade landscape and the role of the banking sector in supporting trade.

As the biggest trade and export finance gathering in India, the conference brought together decision makers from some of the country’s biggest corporate players, including Reliance Industries, Tata Steel and Essar Group, to give their unique insights into today’s market. The event also attracted many local and international delegates from the banking and financial services sectors to discuss liquidity challenges, corporate demand for capital, the impact of changing global trade flows and specific industry case studies.

“India’s economy continues to attract global attention, despite a recent slowdown, with opportunities abound in many sectors,” says Paul Greetham, Senior Conference Producer of the event. “With trade flows developing at an unprecedented rate, the conference was well timed to tackle key market issues and illustrate current business trends.”

A senior Indian banker explained that, “the global slowdown has impacted India's export and import volumes over the last few months. Credit uptake continues to be low. Large corporates are looking at supply chain products for balance sheet management and to also cover counter party risk. Corporates are increasingly moving to solutions backed by electronic platforms to reduce cost.”

With so many high-level delegates in attendance, networking was a key feature throughout the day. With lunch, an evening drinks reception and numerous breaks, there was ample opportunity for anyone serious about doing business in India to create new business contacts and build relationships with the market’s main players.

“The annual India trade and export finance conference has rightly become a flagship event within the Exporta Asia calendar,” says Rupert Sayer, CEO of Exporta Asia. “Many delegates and supporters return year after year and have helped develop this key industry gathering into a hotbed of contemporary discussion and unrivalled networking. We look forward to facilitating business in the region for many years to come.”

The conference welcomed support from leading initiations, such as ICICI Bank, State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of America, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ANZ, National Australia Bank (NAB), Westpac, India Factoring, UBI Banca and Codix. The event has institutional partnerships with Swift, Asia Development Bank (ADB), IoD India, ICISA and the SME Chamber of India.

Description

Following the highly successful 2012 event, which attracted over 260 delegates, Exporta are delighted to return to Mumbai for the 9th Annual India Trade & Export Finance Conference. Now established as the conference of choice for the trade finance community, this annual gathering of influential business leaders will explore the numerous opportunities available for organisations conducting both domestic and international trade.

"Extremely well organized, significant value-added for corporates" 
Manish Kumar, Essar Group

"One of the best organized events by Exporta. Event was very useful and helpful in day-to-day business operations"
Alpesh Prajapati, ABB India

"A conference is only as good as its organizers. Exporta is excellent in bringing corporate and individuals with tremendous thought provoking contributions"
Diwakar Gautam, Sunberg

"Networking knowledge and intellectual interaction rarely comes together at the same place. At Exporta it does!" 
Kamlesh Thakur, Crag Martin Financial Solutions

"It was a well organised conference with participation from a large cross-section of clients, banks and financial institutions. Quality of discussions was very good and the sessions were interactive"
Nandini Bhattacharyya, ICICI Bank

"Extensive wide coverage of the subjects - really impressive! Well done" 
N. Rajararaman, Sleek International

Topics to be covered:
• How are changing global trade dynamics affecting the Indian economy?
• What are the liquidity and regulatory challenges currently facing banks?
• Refining corporate demand for trade, export and off-balance sheet finance
• The role of the banking sector in facilitating Indian trade
• Rupee to RMB: The increasing trend of local currency transactions
• Analysing the appetite and availability of supply chain finance services
• The role of India in the wider Asian trade landscape
• How relevant is trade credit insurance to the development of financing trade in India?
• Tracking the evolution of structured ECA and export finance
• The emergence of Sub-Saharan Africa as a key trade partner

Who should attend?
• Local and international banks
• Multinationals and SMEs
• Independent financiers
• Commodity brokers and traders
• Insurance brokers and underwriters
• Export credit agencies
• Lawyers and consultants
• Solution providers
• Multilaterals
• Market analysts and policy advisors

There will be an evening networking reception following the event where all delegates can continue the day's discussions and engage in further dialogue in a more informal setting.

Event Photos

Brochure

08.00 Registration and refreshments

09.00 Chairman’s opening remarks
Loknath Mishra, General Manager & Head Commercial Banking, ICICI Bank

09.05 The role of the banking sector in facilitating Indian trade
Hemant Contractor, Managing Director & Group Executive, International Banking Group, State Bank of India
• Analysing the current dynamics between the banking and corporate sectors: Is enough being done to secure capacity for the country’s expanding export and trade capabilities?
• Which Indian industries and sectors hold the key for current and future economic growth? To what extent are banks ensuring that today’s SMEs are tomorrows multinationals?
• Examining the impact of global and regional export markets on domestic production: Does the rise of Asian consumption offset the reduced demand of Indian products in the West?
• What are the challenges in providing liquidity in today’s market? How can the market overcome these obstacles?

09.30 How are changing global trade dynamics affecting the Indian economy?
Shubhada Rao, President & Chief Economist, YES BANK
• Profiling the changing Asian and global trade flows: Where are the biggest challenges and opportunities for Indian trade?
• How has the relationship between European and Asian banks developed due to the eurozone crisis? To what extent have banks from other regions, such as Australasia, benefitted from this?
• Considering the growing importance of south-south trade flows: Has increased global appetite for emerging market risk attracted enough liquidity?
• Are the biggest threats to the growth and sustainability of India’s economy internal or external?

09.55 What are the liquidity and regulatory challenges currently facing banks?
Moderator: Kuresh Sarjan, Managing Director, Head of Trade & Supply Chain Finance, Asia Pacific, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Arindam Mandal, Vice-President, Trade Finance, Axis Bank
Sripad Murthy, Director & Head Financial Institutions Trade Sales, India, Barclays Bank India
Zubin Bagwadia, Senior Vice-President & Head Business Development, Global Trade & Receivables Finance, India, HSBC
Nandini Bhattacharyya, Head, Global Trade Products, ICICI Bank
Zaheer Sarguroh, Head of Trade, India, National Australia Bank (NAB)
Munindra Verma, President & Country Head, Trade Finance & Services, Transaction Banking Group, YES BANK
• Policy paralysis: What can regulators do to increase the effectiveness of current liquidity levels? How far will upward pricing trends go due to Basel III regulations?
• To what extent has the eurozone affected liquidity levels? Who is stepping in to fill the shortfall?
• Which industries do banks view as a ‘safe’ investment? Is the emphasis on the company’s profile rather than sector?
• Tracking the evolution of structured trade finance collaborations between domestic and foreign lenders: How have foreign banks added value to domestic financial services?
• Vanilla or innovation? Considering the demand and availability of increasingly sophisticated and tailored services

10.40 Networking break

11.20 The emergence of Sub-Saharan Africa as a key trade partner
Karthik Natarajan, India Lead, Global Trade Services, FirstRand Bank
• Outlining potential trade with the Sub-Saharan Africa natural resource and energy sectors: Which commodities does India need? What does Africa have to offer?
• Analysing the trade trends between India and Africa: How have trends developed over the last few years between these two trade partners?
• Examining the demand of hard commodities, such as coal, to the wider Asian market: Where does India stand in relation to other Asian markets as a competitively priced export destination for African goods?
• What do finance practitioners need to know when conducting LC transactions between African to Indian banks? How can banks based in both regions assist in setting up correspondent banking relationships?

11.45 How is corporate demand for liquidity shaping structured trade finance solutions?
Gordon Sparrow, Executive Director, Head of Trade Sales, Global Transactional Services, Westpac
• Dynamics of the India trade finance market: How are internal and external considerations likely to affect the market in 2013?
• Specialised trade products for the Indian market: How can onshore and offshore services benefit domestic and multinational corporates?
• Examining the challenges facing the Indian economy: What will drive trade finance? What could derail it?
• Partnering with Indian banks: To what extent is the sheer weight of demand for trade finance changing the way banks collaborate with one another?

12.10 Refining corporate demand for trade, export and off-balance sheet finance
Moderator: Partha Bhattacharyya, Group Treasurer, Essar Group
Loknath Mishra, General Manager & Head Commercial Banking, ICICI Bank
Sudeb Sarbadhikary, Chief Executive Officer, India Factoring
Radhakrishnan P, Vice-President, Finance, Reliance Industries
Chandrakant Salunkhe, President, SME Chamber of India
Philip Michell, Regional Manager Trade Sales Asia, Global Transactional Services, Westpac
• Are financial institutions currently taking enough risk to satisfy market demand? Is the SME sector suffering as a result of banks concentrating too much on the larger ‘safer’ deals?
• Profiling the increasing trend of corporates using off-balance sheet financing: Which products are being used and how can banks tailor their services?
• Analysing how increased focus on capital management has changed operational strategy and efficiency: How is today’s corporate treasurer getting the most from financial products and trade lines?
• Considering new global trade lines: What more can banks, solution providers and corporates do to increase the efficiency of the supply chain?
• Expanding the product portfolio: What other financing tools are corporates using in addition to traditional LCs? And are these set to increase in popularity in the mid-to-long term?

12.55 Lunch reception welcome address
Geoff Parry, Head of Trade Finance, South East Asia, National Australia Bank (NAB)

13.00 Lunch hosted by National Australia Bank (NAB)

14.30 What role does India have to play in the wider Asian trade landscape?
Samiran Chakraborty, Head of Research, India, Standard Chartered Bank
• How does India compare to other Asian countries in terms of economy and trade? How is the market utilising the growing commodity production throughout the continent?
• Increasing the trade dimension: In what ways are Indian trade flows and economic activity affecting its Asian neighbours?
• Trade partner and competitor: What is China’s real impact on India in terms of domestic market competitiveness and export levels?
• Profiling the regional commodity sectors: Are burgeoning commodity markets, such as Indonesia, seen as an opportunity or will they contribute to India’s rising net import concerns?
• A spike in demand: Which Asean countries are set to rise in prominence for Indian exporters?

14.55 How widespread are supply chain finance services set to become?
Moderator: Jayant Mehrotra, Director, Head of Trade & Supply Chain Finance, India, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Vasudevan Ayalur, Head of Transaction Banking, India, ANZ
Anurag Zutshi, Senior Vice-President & Product Management, Trade & Supply Chain, HSBC
Sunil Mehta, Head, Cash Management & Supply Chain, ICICI Bank
Prashant Pillai, Head of Trade for India & South Asia, Treasury Services, J.P. Morgan
Srinivas Vaman, Executive Vice-President, Transaction Banking Group, Sales Head, Kotak Mahindra Bank
Diwakar Gautam, Chief Executive Officer, Sunberg
Arun Tiwari, Head of Indian Subcontinent, Swift
• Services development: How is the market ensuring the physical and financial supply chains are as closely linked as possible?
• Examining institutional collaborations in setting up the supply chain: What role does each of the supply chain participants have to play in creating a sustainable and secure trade line?
• Developing the physical supply chain through infrastructure investment: Where do the priorities lie and who’s financing the road, port and air networks that are essential in facilitating trade?
• What is the biggest challenge to the widespread adoption of supply chain finance? To what extent does the market need time to embrace open account transactions?
• Measuring the impact of varying currency transactions along the supply chain: What impact does different currency transactions have on the efficiency of the supply chain? How are providers and banks looking to speed up the process?

15.40 Networking break

16.00 Examining the relevancy of trade credit insurance in the development of financing trade in India
Moderator: Peter Phillips, Managing Director, Markel International
Veena Mankar, Director, India Factoring & Chairperson, Mena Factors
Abhishek Chhajer, Senior Underwriter & Head of Trade Credit Division, Asia Pacific, Markel International
Richard Green, Head, Structured Trade & Political Risk, Asia, Marsh
Sanjiv Verma, Chief Financial Officer, Tata Steel
Jerome Peze, Chief Executive Officer, Tinubu Square
• Analysing the impact of industry wide limitations and restrictions to the insurance market: What has the affect been?
• Political uprisings, natural disasters and looming elections: How has the trade credit and political risk insurance market developed in light of recent global events?
• The role of collaborations between foreign and domestic institutions in developing the industry: How are partnerships benefiting trade finance?
• Analysing the regions, sectors and commodities which pose the greatest risk: Are there areas that insurers will not cover?
• Corporate global risk insulation: How important should trade credit insurance be in a company’s overall risk mitigation strategy?

16.45 How is the market benefiting from the evolution of structured ECA and export finance?
Moderator: Steven Mulder, Director, Structured Asset & Export Finance, Asia, ANZ
Nirvikar Jain, Chief Representative, India Representative Office, First Gulf Bank
Adeline Kow, Head of Export Finance, Asia Pacific, J.P. Morgan
Amit Roy, Head of Mumbai Office, India & South Asia, Sace
• In what ways are banks and ECAs collaborating to ensure future product relevancy? What does this mean for export liquidity and service development for clients?
• The impact of ECAs within the Indian and wider Asian market: How has the role of ECAs developed in recent years to add value to the market? And how far will this development trend go?
• Expanding the reach of domestic traders: Which global regions have been most lucrative for Indian exports?
• Analysing the importance of local knowledge for new market entrants: What do Indian exporters need to know when accessing new countries or regions?
• Considering future pricing trends and the impact of Basel III: Is the market fully aware of why the cost of finance will increase?

17.30 Close of conference followed by evening networking reception

Venue

Sponsors

Sponsorship opportunities including exhibition stands are available for this event.

To become a sponsor, please contact Tom Whitehead, Head of Sponsorship Sales at twhitehead@exportagroup.com.

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