Agenda - Middle East
The Inaugural Middle East Export & Agency Finance Briefing Day
08:15 Registration and refreshments
08:45 Chairperson’s opening remarks
Andreas Klasen, Professor of International Business, Offenburg University
09:00 Navigating through high geopolitical risk geographies: the case of the Middle East.
- Understanding the Middle East’s new dynamics
- Uprisings and oil price collapse: overcoming the challenges ahead
- Forecasting sectoral and regional growth opportunities in 2016 and beyond.
Philippe Dauba-Pantanacce, Senior Economist & Global Geopolitical Analyst, Standard Chartered Bank
09:45 Being a borrower in the Middle East: an evaluation of Export Credit as a source of debt financing. Exploring the perspectives of new and experienced borrowers in the region
- Why have borrowers in the region significantly increased the amount of ECA supported debt over the past few years?
- What do they see as the key advantages and challenges of this source of funding?
- Do borrowers see any changes in the way ECAs and banks have been addressing this market in recent times?
- What can ECAS and banks do differently to make the product more attractive?
- Outlook for capex spending in the region over the next two years
Imran Saeed, Senior Executive Vice President, Siemens LLC, UAE
Rani Selwanes, Executive Director, Investment Banking, NBK Capital
Reham El-Beltagy, Vice President & Group Treasurer, Orascom Construction Industries
Tom Koczwara, Director, Debt Management Office, Government of Sharjah, UAE
Manav Futnani, Managing Director, Head of Export & Specialised Finance, MENA, HSBC, moderator
10:30 Morning refreshments and networking break
11:15 Examining pricing dynamics in the Middle East: Will margins and pricing be more attractive compared to other regions?
- Analysing regional pricing: How does the Middle East compare globally?
- Winning deals in a liquid environment: How can banks gain a competitive edge?
- How are local and international banks collaborating on deals?
Richard Evans, Director, Export & Agency Finance, Citi
André Gazal, Global Head of Export Finance, Credit Agricole CIB
Yasser Henda, Global Head of Export Finance, BNP Paribas
Erik Hoffmann, Global Head of Export & Agency Finance, Banco Santander
Manav Futnani, Managing Director, Head of Export & Specialised Finance, MENA, HSBC, moderator
12:00 How are suppliers using ECA finance as a sales tool? Is it working?
- How is export finance being evaluated against other funding sources?
- What are the “pain points” and what has been the corporate experience so far?
Xavier-Marie Robert, Head of Export Finance- Funding, Americas, Asia and Sectors, Société Générale
Pietro Amico, Financing & Contracting Director, Danieli Group
Hadi El-Amaary, AMEA Treasurer, ABB
Andreas Klasen, Professor of International Business, Offenburg University, moderator
12:45 Lunch
14:00 What is the best structure for financing large scale projects? Corporate or project finance?
- A look at PPP and project finance structures: Success stories and barriers
- Will ECAs and banks support projects without an off-tack agreement or sovereign guarantee?
- Is there enough liquidity available in the market to finance large scale projects without ECA/multilateral support? What are the implication for export finance?
Salah Al-Garawi, Corporate Treasurer, Sadara Chemical Company
Giulio Dal Magro, Head of Heavy Industries - Large Business, SACE SpA
David Craig, Head of Project and Structured Finance, UKEF, moderator
14:45 Unlocking Iran’s potential: What market infrastructure is needed to facilitate export finance?
- Understanding the current sanctions environment and time frame
- Plugging back into the system: What infrastructure is needed to facilitate the flow of payments and applications?
- How comfortable are exporters and ECAs with Iranian balance sheets?
Paula de las Casas Fuentes, Head of Underwriting, CESCE
Victor Carstenius, Country Analyst, Middle East and Africa, EKN
Andreas Schweitzer, Senior Managing Partner, Arjan Capital
Geoffrey L. Wynne, Partner, Head of Trade & Export Finance, Sullivan and Worcester UK LLP
Michal Ron, Head of International Business, SACE SpA, moderator
15:30 Afternoon refreshments and networking break
16:00 Presentation: Middle East banking sector and Export Agency Finance
- Macro environment causing the local liquidity shortage
- How local banks are getting affected
- How do local bank funding costs differ to international banks?
- How are they viewing export finance?
Yusuf Saeed, AGM Global Structured Finance, Qatar National Bank SAQ
16:30 Developing bankable ECA structures for IPPs in the power and renewables sectors
- Comparing structures for financing projects in the power and renewables sector
- What tenors will the market accept given OECD constraints?
- Strategies to accommodate shorter tenors: Will mini perm structures prevail?
Nina Wium, Head of Wind Energy Team, Large Corporates, EKF
Andreas Back, Senior Manager, Wärtsilä Financial Services
Rob McNabb, Head of Clean Energy Construction, Eversheds LLP
David Craig, Head of Project and Structured Finance, UKEF, moderator
17:15 Chairperson’s closing remarks followed by drinks reception
Sandil Sanmugam, Conference Manager, Trade Finance