Thursday 18th September 2008
Day One
8.15 Morning coffee and registration
9.00 Chairman’s opening remarks
Sean Mulhearn, Global Head, Commodity Derivatives, Standard Chartered
9.10 Heads Panel: Commodities Focus
· How has commodity financing across Asia Pacific been affected by the credit crunch?
· How has the recent economic downturn affected banks capacities and appetites for lending?
· Have spiralling commodities prices reached their peak, or is there still some way to go?
· As risk and market volatility increases, how can counterparty risk be successfully mitigated?
· How are traditional commodity financiers affected by new players in the market, and how is this continuing to impact on commodities pricing?
Michael Marnell, Head of Metals and Mining, Global Trade Finance Group, KBC Group
Francis Lacourte, Regional Head of Commodities, Natixis
Aarti Mehra, Head of Commodity Structured Finance, Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ
Maaike Steinebach, Regional Head Asia for ECT Commodities, Fortis Bank
Michael Lim, Head of Structured Trade Finance, HSBC
Harold Gan, Director, Head of Energy, Commodity Traders & Agribusiness Singapore, Standard Chartered
Moderator: Rashed Idrees, Partner, Deacons
10.10 Analysing changes in the Asian commodities derivatives market
- Effectively hedging and managing FX risk
- Examining new markets and the growth of the investor as an asset class
- Charting the potential for growth in palm oil futures contracts on the Singapore Exchange
- How will increasing interest and activity in the commodity derivatives market continue to affect commodities pricing and potential for structured commodity financing?
Sean Mulhearn, Global Head, Commodity Derivatives, Standard Chartered
10.40 Coffee and networking session
11.35 The changing world of commodity finance and the impact on producers and traders in Asia
- Is the traditional trader model changing and evolving?
- How are Basel II and other regulatory requirements affecting access to borrowing facilities?
- Has recent market uncertainty affected access to finance and the cost of corporate borrowing?
- How are companies coping with high fuel and raw material costs?
- Are appetites for insurance in transactions increasing, and how is this reflected in the products in the market?
- In current market conditions, is an “asset-medium” balance sheet proving to be more appealing than “asset-light”?
- Successfully accessing financing throughout the supply chain – how do customers choose the right solutions for their needs?
Christopher Bachofen, Director – Structured Trade Finance, Stemcor
Sandeep Bhamrah, Director, Trade and Commodity Finance, Societe Generale
Andreas Seubert, Vice Prseident, Credit Solutions, Swiss Reinsurance Company
Ramani Venkataramani, Group Vice President Finance, Coal and Oil Group, Dubai
12.15 Usage of Structured Commodity Finance techniques as part of a more sophisticated debt portfolio: Case study by Essar Steel
- Introduction to Essar Steel
- Analysis of usage of structured commodity finance in an economic downturn
- Acquisition of Esmark: analysis and structure of acquisition financing package
- Examining potential for future growth
Robin Banarjee, Director – Finance, Essar Steel
12.45 Raising the bar in structured commodity financing across the Asia-Pacific: Metals focus
- Can this sector continue to absorb price increases in terms of end cost of product? What will be the effect on the market if it cannot?
- Flight to security? In current market conditions, how are larger producers using structured commodity financing as part of a more sophisticated financing portfolio?
- As more and more deals are financed on an onshore basis, where do international banks fit into the picture?
- Charting the potential for new projects in this sector across Asia Pacific
- Predictions for sector trends and developments in 2008 – 9
Craig Dimmick, Director, EuroFin Asia PTE Ltd.
Michael Marnell, Head of Metals and Mining, Global Trade Finance Group, KBC Group*
Robin Banarjee, Director – Finance, Essar Steel
Aarti Mehra, Head of Commodity Structured Finance, Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ
13.30 Lunch
14.40 Sowing the seeds for success: Meeting the demand for soft commodities
- Overcoming challenges in meeting global and regional demand for soft commodities
- Is resource nationalism becoming more of an issue as food stocks become scarcer? How can this risk be successfully mitigated?
- Has the global spike in food prices reached its peak?
- What about other factors impacting on high prices – weather, balancing demand and supply, or increasing transportation costs?
- Predictions for sector trends and developments in 2008 – 9
Shashidar Payannavar, Head – Sugar Resources, Agrocorp International Pte.
Deborah Lim, General Manager, Armajaro Singapore
Nick Robson, Head of Credit, Political and Security Risks, Jardine Lloyd Thompson Ltd
Karnik Bipin Vasant, Regional Business Manager for Agricultural Division, SGS Singapore Ltd.
Maaike Steinebach, Regional Head Asia for ECT Commodities, Fortis Bank
15.30 Afternoon coffee
16.20 Successfully financing and rolling out Asian biofuels projects
- How can sustainable sources of palm oil, ethanol and other raw materials be secured for these projects?
- A blessing or a curse - will recent controversy surrounding biofuels permanently hinder the success of these projects in the long term?
- How will commodity pricing affect the long term sustainability of these projects?
- Combining project, commodity and other types of financing to achieve success
- What can be done to improve plantation cycle, technology and production?
- How does current governmental support and promotion of these projects match up to expectations, for long term sustainability? Where can Asian countries look to for inspiration in developing these projects?
Christopher Tung, Partner, Mallesons Stephen Jacques
17.00 End of day one, followed by cocktail reception – sponsored by Standard Chartered
Friday 19th September 2008
08.45 Morning coffee
09.15 Chairman’s opening remarks
Yeo Woei Kuen, Director, Head of Agri Commodities & Metals, Commodity Traders & Agribusiness Singapore, Standard Chartered
09.30 Analysing changes in the Asian commodities derivatives market
- Effectively hedging and managing FX risk
- Examining new markets and the growth of the investor as an asset class
- Charting the potential for growth in palm oil futures contracts on the Singapore Exchange
- How will increasing interest and activity in the commodity derivatives market continue to affect commodities pricing and potential for structured commodity financing?
Amar Singh, Director, Standard Chartered
10.00 Charting the evolution of risk mitigation and insurance tolls in the face of market volatility and uncertainty
- Is international market volatility causing increased demand for insurance products?
- Have the products evolved and have they grown in value?
- Rising food prices and the reality of supply/demand and protectionism – how can these risks be mitigated?
- Tailoring risk mitigation to individual country risk across Asia Pacific
- Has there been an increase in claims activity? If so, with what outcome?
Matthew Strong, Managing Director, Capital Risks, Asia, Jardine Lloyd Thompson
Julian Hudson, Regional Manager, Political Risk & Credit, Asia Pacific, ACE Asia Pacific
Adam Grant, Vice President, Structured Trade & Export Finance, Deutsche Bank AG, Asia Pacific
Michael Lim, Head of Structured Trade Finance, HSBC
10.45 Morning coffee
11.30 The race is on: Consolidation in the mining sector in the Asia-Pacific
- How are corporates aiming to secure origination of raw materials through acquisitions?
- Where are producers looking to acquire assets – examining the rise and rise of intra Asian and international acquisitions
- How will regulatory and legislative change affect producers in the mining sector?
- How is legislative change affecting opportunities for acquisition financing across the region?
- Predictions for sector trends and developments in 2008 – 9
J.K. Singh, Chairman, MESCO Steel
12.00 Energy flows in and out of Asia Pacific
- Facilitating the flow of raw materials to fuel Asian corporates’ growth and expansion
- Breaking the bottleneck – overcoming transportation issues along the supply chain
- Energy trade is strategic for many Asian countries, but is energy trade finance really less risky?
- Do political risks threaten Asia's energy supply?
- Reserve based lending – who are the new players in the market, and how are they being financed?
- Beyond the Asian giants – where are the new deals taking place?
Frederic Louat, Senior Vice President and Regional Manager – Asia / Pacific, Political Risk and Trade Credit, Zurich
12.45 Going green(er)… Analysing opportunities for carbon financing and carbon trading across the Asia Pacific
- Analysing appetites for carbon emissions trading and carbon financing across the region
- Examining the demand for PXF facilities to bring these projects to fruition
- Completing due diligence and successfully assessing and mitigating risk
- Successfully navigating carbon credit and emissions trading regulations in these projects
- How carbon financing and carbon trading set to take off across the Asia Pacific?
Tim Cornelius, Chief Executive Officer, Atlantis Resources Corporation
Chintan Shah, Vice President -Strategic Business Development, Suzlon Energy Limited
13.30 Chairman’s closing remarks, followed by close of conference