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ICIEC and ITFC partner to strengthen documentary credit facilitation for trade growth

The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) and the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), both part of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, have signed a strategic agreement aimed at enhancing documentary credit facilitation to support trade across member countries.

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UK government agency extends facility to boost Ghana's L/C availability and close Africa's trade finance gap

The UK's development finance institution and impact investor, British International Investment (BII), has extended a US$50 million trade finance facility to Ghana International Bank (GHIB) to improve the availability in Ghana of letters of credit (L/Cs), trade loans, and other trade-related financial instruments.

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Moscow's request for SWIFT reconnection to facilitate L/Cs more a political than procedural ploy

Russia, in its current negotiations for a truce with Ukraine - reportedly only with the US so far - is requesting to be reconnected to SWIFT, the global financial messaging system used by banks for secure communication of transactions, including letters of credit (L/Cs).

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L/Cs help compromise Trump's efforts to halt US development aid payments

US President Donald Trump's efforts to suspend US development aid payments pending a comprehensive review have been compromised by financial obligations, including letters of credit (L/Cs), that have already been entered into by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

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MUFG completes digital L/C transaction on the revived Contour Network Hub

Japan's MUFG Bank has successfully completed its first fully digital trade finance transaction through its GIFT City branch in Gujarat, India. It involved a US$15 million letter of credit (L/C) for a subsidiary of Tata International Limited, the global trading arm of the Tata Group.

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L/Cs play 'crucial role' in StanChart's innovative sustainability-linked trade finance facility

Standard Chartered has introduced an innovative sustainability-linked trade finance facility for Siemens Energy, spanning eight countries across the Middle East, Africa, and Pakistan.

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Microsoft explains how AI captures TBML in L/C transactions

Operational efficiencies in letter of credit (L/C) processing can be greatly enhanced with AI according to tech giant, Microsoft in a blog that summarises how trade finance is now undergoing rapid and fundamental change, thanks to the advent of cloud and AI technologies.

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London High Court rules against Banque El Amana standby L/C case

The High Court in London has ruled in favour of Litasco, a Swiss petroleum trading company, in its dispute with Mauritanian bank Banque El Amana (BEA) over a standby letter of credit (L/C).

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India's private commercial banks to get state guarantees for L/Cs

The Indian government has extended its practice of issuing state guarantees, traditionally provided to state-owned commercial banks (SoCBs), to include private commercial banks (PCBs).

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New ICC paper published under Digital Library: Consolidated ICC guidance on the use of sanctions clauses in trade finance-related instruments subject to ICC rules

This document contains the Guidance Paper on the Use of Sanctions Clauses in Trade Finance-related Instruments Subject to ICC Rules (2014) and the Addendum to Guidance Paper (2020)

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Anvil launches DeFi protocol for L/Cs

Anvil has launched a DeFi protocol - a set of rules and systems built on blockchain technology - for letters of credit (L/Cs) that allows people to access financial services without needing traditional banks or intermediaries.

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Tanzania's discussions with India, Russia and China could see more L/Cs in non-US dollar currencies

Tanzania is actively exploring the use of alternative currencies, such as the Indian rupee, Chinese yuan, and Russian rouble, that can be used in letters of credit (L/Cs) and other trade finance instruments.

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Russia and Ethiopia's trade arrangements reducing US dollar reliance and paving the way for national currency L/Cs

Russia and Ethiopia are actively exploring the feasibility of conducting trade using their respective national currencies, aiming to reduce reliance on the US dollar and enhance economic cooperation.

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ICIEC and ITFC partner to strengthen documentary credit facilitation for trade growth

The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) and the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), both part of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, have signed a strategic agreement aimed at enhancing documentary credit facilitation to support trade across member countries.

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Former EXIM Bank chairman and Bangladesh-based mogul used L/Cs in complex TBML scheme

Nazrul Islam Mazumder, chairman of Bangladesh-based NASSA Group and a former chairman of the Export Import Bank of Bangladesh (EXIM Bank), has been implicated in significant trade-based money laundering (TBML) activities.

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Greenbacker secures landmark financing with L/C facility for New York's largest solar project

Greenbacker Capital Management, a US-based investment firm specialising in sustainable infrastructure and renewable energy projects, has announced a major milestone in renewable energy development, securing nearly US$1 billion in financing to acquire and construct the largest solar energy project in New York State.

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Wilben Trade launches new legal action in the UAE to rebut Ecobank's accusation of L/C fraud

Nigeria's Wilben Trade, a global merchant trading company, and its founder Marcus Wade are currently facing prosecution in Nigeria over allegations of letter of credit (L/C) fraud amounting to approximately US$42.5 million.

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Veefin acquires TradeAssets to enhance its L/C offerings

Veefin Solutions, an Indian technology company specialising in digital lending and supply chain finance solutions, has announced the acquisition of TradeAssets, a digital trade finance platform.

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Standard Chartered Trade Institute receives accreditation from LIBF to offer documentary credit training

Standard Chartered has announced that its flagship Trade Institute has received full accreditation from LIBF (formerly known as the London Institute of Banking and Finance) which provides, amongst other offerings, specialised training in letters of credit (L/Cs) through their Certificate for Documentary Credit Specialists (CDCS) programme.

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BNP Paribas seeks family money to settle claim against Gulf Petrochem's alleged fraudulently obtained L/Cs

BNP Paribas has initiated legal action in London against Sharjah-based oil trader, Gulf Petrochem, alleging that the company utilised false invoices to fraudulently obtain letters of credit (L/Cs) and other financing facilities.

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Nigeria reports foreign trade payments via L/Cs halved in 2024

Nigeria has experienced a significant decline in foreign trade payments conducted through letters of credit (L/Cs), with a reduction from US$1.07 billion in 2023 to just US$506.1 million in 2024.

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Singapore-based tech company seeks to regain US$6 million paid under a standby L/C

Singapore-based technology solutions provider CSE Global Limited and one of its subsidiaries is seeking to recover US$6 million paid under a standby letter of credit (L/C).

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L/C difficulties help drive ship recycling to lowest point since 2005

Lloyd's List Intelligence has reported that ship recycling levels in 2024 reached the lowest point since 2005. The decline was driven by several interconnected factors, including increasingly difficult economic, financial, and regulatory environments.

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Egyptian companies required to put up L/Cs to benefit from government support

Egyptian businesses in priority industrial sectors will need to put up letters of credit (L/Cs) if they want to benefit from the government's ambitious initiative to bolster sectors facing increasing competition from Turkey and China.

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G+D launches Smart Label as a replacement for L/Cs in trade payment solutions

Giesecke+Devrient (G+D), a long-established German security firm says it has developed an 'internet of things' (IoT) solution that integrates with external trade payment solutions and can replace letters of credit (L/Cs).

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Innovative EDC facility allows renewables developer to issue L/Cs with no cash collateral

A North American owner, operator and developer of renewable energy projects, Revolve Renewable Power, has secured an innovative facility from Export Development Canada (EDC) that will allow it to issue letters of credit (L/Cs) without putting up cash collateral.

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African fintech Breeze says its solution will revolutionise L/C processing

African fintech Breeze has announced that it has developed a digital platform that it claims will revolutionise letter of credit (L/C) processing.

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ContourGlobal's refinancing underscores increasing use of Debt Service Reserve L/Cs in green financing

ContourGlobal, an independent power producer with a diversified global presence, has closed its US$612 million refinancing of a 1,205 megawatt portfolio of natural gas power plants located in California, New Mexico and Texas.

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Nigeria and China renew currency swap agreement that facilitates yuan-denominated L/Cs

Nigeria and China have renewed their bilateral currency swap agreement (BCSA) that was originally agreed in April 2018 and which enables the exchange of 15 billion yuan (US$2 billion).

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Nigeria's naira-for-crude policy reducing demand for international L/Cs as petrol prices fall

The new Dangote Petroleum Refinery near Lagos in Nigeria has reduced the ex-depot price of a litre of petrol to 899.5 naira (N899.50 - 58 US cents) down from the previous rate of N970.

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L/Cs misused used in Transstory's US$5.9 million loan scam

India's Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached land parcels and residential properties valued at approximately 48.71 crore rupees (Rs48.71 - US$5.9 million) belonging to Transstroy (India) in a case involving the misuse of letters of credit (L/Cs).

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Russian grain exporters tell Egyptian buyer they would prefer to continue doing business on L/C terms

Egypt's new commodities importer has asked Russian grain exporters to come up with ways to reduce transaction costs on wheat deals, according to Dubai-based publication Asharq Business.

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Favourable L/C terms part of Woori Bank's package to help South Korean exporters overcome forex crisis

South Korea's Woori Bank is providing more favourable letter of credit (L/C) terms in its 500 billion won (US$343 million) financial support package designed to help Korean importers and exporters overcome the country's foreign exchange crisis.

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Beximco workers form 10-kilometre human chain to demand that L/Cs are resumed and factories reopened

Approximately 40,000 workers from 16 closed factories of the Beximco Group formed a 10-kilometre long human chain this week along a major highway in Bangladesh in a protest demanding the resumption of letters of credit (L/Cs) and the reopening of factories.

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Failure to use L/Cs or similar safeguards behind investigation into trader's advance payments for US$400 of undelivered oil

The former CEO of Orlen Trading Switzerland (OTS), referred to as 'Samer A' due to privacy laws, is under investigation for authorising advance payments totalling approximately US$400 million for oil deliveries that were never fulfilled.

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Reduced L/C reliance helps boost Lloyd's of London earnings

Reduced reliance on letters of credit (L/Cs) has contributed to strong earnings at Lloyd's of London in the first half of 2024 according to a report published by Moody's Ratings.

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High Court of Australia declines to intervene in dispute involving A$37 million standby L/C

The High Court of Australia has declined to intervene in the case concerning an abandoned 185 million Australian dollar (A$185 million - US$115 million) property development in Gosford, New South Wales.

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African banks' closer links to China stimulating yuan-denominated L/C business

African banks are increasingly engaging with China to facilitate trade and investment, focusing on establishing operations in China and promoting yuan-denominated letters of credit (L/Cs) and other financial instruments.

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New Opinions from the ICC Banking Commission

The latest ICC Opinions from the Banking Commission Meeting held in November 2024 are now available under the Trade Finance Channel of the Digital Library:

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Insurer takes legal action against China Construction Bank in Vesttoo US$4 billion insurance fraud

Clear Blue Insurance Group has initiated legal action against China Construction Bank (CCB) in response to the multi-million dollar fraud involving fraudulent letters of credit (L/Cs) provided as reinsurance collateral through the insurtech platform, Vesttoo.

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