3rd Annual West Africa Trade & Commodity Finance Conference

Event Review

London played host to Exporta’s 3rd Annual West Africa Trade & Commodity Finance Conference and brought together the region’s largest and most influential companies and financial institutions to discuss the positive and optimistic outlook of one of the true global emerging market powerhouses. The delegates were unanimous in their belief that the region is not only set to fulfil its role as a key global commodities hub, but also in the need to develop each individual economy on the back of hard and soft commodity exports - due to the increasing global population and subsequent demand – to create a solid foundation for future growth.

The conference opened with an extensive in-depth keynote presentation from Razia Khan, Regional Head of Research of Africa for Standard Chartered Bank, which set the scene for the two day conference to cover essential issues, such as the long-term strategy of the region’s oil and gas sector, the growing appeal of Africa’s natural resources to China, corporate challenges in importing and exporting goods, the realities of investment risk in West Africa, fluctuating soft commodity prices and export credit agency support for exporters, to name but a few.

Delegates were treated to a special commodity focused session with high-level speakers from the Ghana Cocoa Board and the International Cocoa Organisation who both addressed the audience in the panel discussion, ‘The importance of Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana to global cocoa production’. Continuing the specialist theme, a richly experienced panel of corporate speakers tackled audience questions and delved into the practicalities of importing and exporting goods throughout West Africa.

The conference was the perfect setting for high-level networking with a healthy mix of domestic, regional and global delegates. One of the key features of the conference was the emphasis on making new business connections so essential collaborations and partnerships could be forged. The conference welcomed support from Standard Bank, FBN Bank, the Access Bank UK, the ITFC, Afreximbank and Nationwide International Group and would not have been possible without them.

Due to overwhelmingly positive feedback and market demand, Exporta look forward to taking the conference to Ghana in 2012 and will welcome a strong European and local West African delegation for another two days of informed discussion and unrivalled networking.
 

Description

West Africa has rightly gained an international reputation for being one of the most lucrative emerging markets in recent years and, as such, Exporta’s 3rd Annual West Africa Trade & Commodity Finance Conference is well timed to bring together the leading figures operating in the region to highlight new opportunities, analyse existing markets and discuss the shared challenges of importers, exporters and the financial institutions supporting their trade.

Amongst those providing expert opinion and unique insight will be key industry decision makers from SME & MNC corporates, local and international banks, insurers, export credit agencies, multilaterals, lawyers, commodity traders and many other protagonists involved in West African trade and commodity finance.

The conference will allow delegates to network with the highest level of decision makers in attendance, gain expert perspectives from individual presentations as well as contribute to the interactive sessions during panel discussions.

Among the topics to be discussed over the course of the conference:
• Analysing market appetite for trade & commodity finance in West Africa
• Considering corporate financial challenges in importing & exporting goods
• Are structured soft commodity deals the driving force in West Africa?
• The growing appeal of Africa’s natural resources to China
• The importance of West Africa and the Côte d'Ivoire to global cocoa production
• How are fluctuating soft commodity prices affecting the agribusiness sector?
• What is the long-term strategy of the region’s oil & gas sector?
• The rising competition between international mining companies for minerals
• Identifying political risk factors & developing risk mitigation strategies
• Supporting regional trade through export finance
• Security & planning through trade credit insurance
• What is the biggest challenge to infrastructure investment?
• Interactive case study: Reducing risk through a transparent transaction process

Who should attend?
• Trade, export and commodity finance heads and directors
• Corporate finance directors, CFOs and treasurers
• Insurance underwriters and brokers
• Export credit agencies
• Multilaterals
• Solution providers
• Lawyers and consultants
• Market analysts and policy advisors

As with all Exporta events, strong emphasis is placed on networking. As such, there will be a special evening 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

Programme

♦♦♦ Day 1 ♦♦♦

08.00 Registration and refreshments

09.00 Chairman’s opening remarks
Jean-Louis Ekra, President, Afreximbank

09.15 Keynote: Assessing the enduring appeal of West Africa
Razia Khan, Regional Head of Research, Africa, Standard Chartered Bank
• Profiling recent developments in the West Africa region
• In what ways have political factors affected trade and its beneficiaries?
• How attractive is West Africa compared to other emerging markets?
• Considering future challenges on intra-regional and international trade

09.45 Panel discussion: Analysing market appetite for trade and commodity finance in West Africa
Moderator: Jean-Louis Ekra, President, Afreximbank
Taiwo Adeniji, Director & Head, Financial Institutions and Advisory Services, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC)
Bernie de Haldevang, Head of Financial Lines, Aspen Insurance
Alex Monk, Partner, DLA Piper
Andrew Kairu, Chief Operating Officer, Ghana International Bank
Tony Uzoebo, Executive Director, Business Development, Zenith Bank
• Does the perception of West African trade finance deal volumes match reality?
• Is competition among banks increasing interest in lending to non-traditional sectors?
• What does the popularity of plain vanilla products and services indicate?
• Why aren’t local banks increasing their revenues from rising trade levels?
• Considering the importance of foreign banks to the region’s prosperity

10.45 Networking break

11.30 Panel discussion: The importance of Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana to global cocoa production
Moderator: Natznet Tesfay, Head of Africa Forecasting, Exclusive Analysis
Moussa Lenboni, Manager, Cocoa Marketing Company UK (Ghana Cocoa Board)
Mory Diarassouba, Commercial Counsellor, Côte d’Ivoire Embassy UK
Jean-Marc Anga, Executive Director, International Cocoa Organization (ICCO)
• Tracking trends: An update of the West African cocoa market
• The role of Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana in the development of world cocoa production
• Has confidence been affected by the recent disturbances in the Côte d'Ivoire cocoa market?
• How is soft commodity production being affected by political risk?
• What are the greatest risks to Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana cocoa production?

12.25 Panel discussion: Considering corporate challenges in importing and exporting goods
Moderator: Geoffrey Wynne, Partner, SNR Denton
Ramz Hamzaoui, Chief Executive Officer, BMCE Bank International
Vernon Darko, President, Equipxp
Suresh Vaidhyanathan, Group Finance Director, Platinum Corporation
Diwakar Gautam, Chief Executive Officer, Sunberg
• Shared experiences in cross-border trading
• Are banks stifling SME trade by concentrating too much on the bigger deals?
• Considering the infrastructure developments corporates need the most
• Is the majority of business still being dominated by letters of credit?
• What is the single biggest challenge for corporate finance?

13.20 Lunch

Choose between Stream A and Stream B

**

Stream A: The role of hard commodities in shaping West Africa

Chairman: Jean-Louis Ekra, President, Afreximbank

14.30 What is the long-term strategy of the region’s oil and gas sector?
Rolake Akinola, Oil & Gas Specialist, Ecobank Research
• West Africa’s place in current global oil and gas dynamics
• Analysing oil and gas deal appetite in the triple-digit global price environment
• Are independent E&P firms changing the upstream game in West Africa?
• Looking beyond West Africa’s leading producers: What do the others offer?
• Does West Africa have any role to play in the unconventional gas industry?
• Will refining capacity ever catch up with the booming regional petroleum products trade, demand and consumption?

15.10 How best to structure an oil and gas deal
Dimitri Papaefstratiou, Associate, DLA Piper
• What are the best practices for banks that are funding oil and gas transactions?
• Corporate focus: Negotiating the best lease deal for owners
• Analysing the variations and regional differences in legal protocol that affect oil and gas trade
• What are the key issues that lenders and borrowers need to address when structuring a deal? 
 

15.40 Networking break

16.10 Developments in the syndicated loans market in West Africa
Pamela Green, Director, Syndications, Standard Chartered Bank
• Assessing the fall-out from the current economic crisis
• Developments in the mining sector in West Africa
• Examining the latest trends in syndicated loans
• Assessing the new entrants into the marketplace

16.40 The growing appeal of Africa’s natural resources to China
Moderator: Kissy Agyeman-Togobo, Partner, Songhai Advisory
Teymur Huseynov, Head of Global Energy Consulting, Exclusive Analysis
Sabrina Borlini, Global Trade and Short Term Finance, International Finance Corporation (IFC)
• China-Africa: Reflections on key bilateral trade routes
• Considering the best solutions for financing trade with China?
• Are the growing trade relations with China due to the shifting power base from West to East?
• Profiling Chinese investment in infrastructure developments
• Analysing the levels of natural resources China needs from Africa

**

Stream B: Exploring challenges in investment risk mitigation

Chairman: Lodewyk Meyer, Director, Banking and Finance, Bowman Gilfillan

14.30 Identifying political risk factors and developing risk mitigation strategies
Elizabeth Stephens, Head of Credit & Political Risk Analysis, Jardine Lloyd Thompson
• Defining political risk in West Africa and on the continent
• Identifying external factors that impact upon your project
• Quantifying the operational and financial impact of these factors
• Managing and mitigating political risk

15.05 Exploring the realities of investment risk in West Africa
Jorim Schraven, Manager, Financial Institutions, FMO
• How does the currency risk of Africa compare with other emerging markets?
• Case study: FMO’s credit risk experience
• Why is country risk in Africa so different?
• Examining product choice and portfolio management

15.40 Networking break

16.10 Security and planning through trade credit insurance
George Otieno, Chief Executive Officer, Africa Trade Insurance Agency (ATI)
• An update on the trade credit insurance market
• Do political risk insurance (PRI) underwriters still have a ‘wait and see’ attitude?
• Currency risks: Is the dollar still king?
• Where are the future ‘hot spots’ of concern in West Africa?

16.40 Panel discussion: What is the biggest challenge to infrastructure investment?
Moderator: Michael Kenny, Partner, Watson, Farley & Williams
George Otieno, Chief Executive Officer, Africa Trade Insurance Agency (ATI)
Tomas Duffy, Deputy Director, Large Corporates, EKN
• Profiling recent projects and their beneficiaries
• The role of project finance in facilitating infrastructure development
• Project funding: The importance of export credit agencies and multilaterals
• Priority investment: the relationship between corporates, commercial and development banks

17.30 Close of Day 1 followed by evening networking reception

_____________________________________________________________________________________

♦♦♦ Day 2 ♦♦♦

08.00 Registration and refreshments

09.00 Chairman’s opening remarks
Jorim Schraven, Manager, Financial Institutions, FMO

09.10 Keynote: How are fluctuating soft commodity prices affecting the agribusiness sector?
Paul-Harry Aithnard, Group Head, Research, Ecobank
• Profiling the region’s soft commodity trade flows
• Fluctuating soft commodity prices: the reality, the upside and the downside
• Which commodities have been most affected by the changing prices?
• Outlook for soft commodity prices and solutions to mitigate volatility

09.40 Panel discussion: Are structured soft commodity deals the driving force in West Africa?
Moderator: Lodewyk Meyer, Director, Banking and Finance, Bowman Gilfillan
Okey Oramah, Executive Vice-President, Afreximbank
Bob Angliss, Head of Commodity & Structured Trade Finance, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi
Ian Stern, Executive Director, Deputy Head for Sub-Saharan Africa, Structured Finance, Natural Resources, Crédit Agricole CIB
Chaste Nyilimania, Manager, Structured Trade & Commodity Finance, FBN Bank
• Is the rise is structured deals a result of a lack of creditworthiness of potential borrowers?
• Analysing structured finance options (warehouse receipt, export receivables and pre-payment)
• What are the risks associated with cross-border commodity financing?
• Which commodities are commanding the most lucrative deals?

10.30 An interactive study: Taking security measures in cross-border transactions
Lodewyk Meyer, Director, Banking and Finance, Bowman Gilfillan
• The dealmaker’s checklist: Counterparty and sovereign risk
• What are the essential requirements when dealing with challenging markets?
• Considering the choice of law and implementation techniques
• Collateral consideration: Analysing the types of security and local country limitations

11.00 Networking break

11.30 Panel discussion: Where are the best deals to be found in the market?
Moderator: Ian Henderson, Director, Texel Capital
Shaun Beecham, Commodity Trade Finance, Sugar and Bioenergy, Bunge
Peter Aplin, Director, Drum Resources
Babajide Bode-Harrison, Business Development Manager, Structured Trade Commodity Finance, FBN Bank
• Which commodities are currently creating the greatest opportunities in the market?
• What effect have fluctuating prices had on risk appetite?
• Challenges faced in the warehousing and storage of commodities
• Considering the implications of political interference in commodity trading

12.20 Panel discussion: Supporting regional trade through export finance
Moderator: Rupert Cutler, Managing Director, Financial and Political Risk, Newman Martin & Buchan
Wasiu Fatai, Head of Trade Finance, The Access Bank UK
Gabriel Buck, Director, Head of ECA, Barclays Capital
Yusuf Khan, Head of Structured Trade and Export Finance, Africa, Citi
Martin Schmerbach, Country Analyst, Middle East & Africa, Euler Hermes
Sabrina Borlini, Global Trade and Short Term Finance, International Finance Corporation (IFC)
• Who are the players in the African export finance market?
• Analysing challenges to banks in lending to regional start-ups
• Considering ECA funding to support exports where domestic banks cannot
• How are banks supporting West Africa in its attempt to diversify away from oil?
• Can all the deals in West Africa be financed from London, Paris or Shanghai?

13.30 Close of conference followed by networking lunch

Venue

Accommodation

Delegates are responsible for the arrangement and payment of their own travel and accommodation. 

Upon registering to attend this event, Exporta will inform you of how to book accommodation at the 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.

Exporta's events have a global reputation, renowned for superb networking opportunities and educational presentations by high-profile speakers.

Time after time our events attract the leading companies in our market as sponsors.

See below for a full list of our Event Sponsors, Institutional Partners and Media Partners and click on the logo to visit their web site. 

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