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Blockchain L/C in Thai-Indonesian chemical market brings green benefits

Thailand's Bangkok Bank and Indonesia's Permata Bank have collaborated to complete a blockchain letter of credit (L/C) transaction in the Thai-Indonesian chemical market.

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Thailand joins countries in search of non-US dollar L/C solutions

Thailand has joined the apparently increasing number of countries looking to facilitate non-US dollar letter of credit (L/C) and other international trade finance transactions.

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Layered L/Cs could be used to circumvent sanctions imposed on Russia

Layered letters of credit (L/Cs) could be used to circumvent trade sanctions imposed on Russia intended to deny it to the goods, technologies and revenue necessary to pursue its military operations in Ukraine the UK government has warned.

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London court rejects UniCredit's claim not pay interest on late L/C payments due to sanctions

A court in London has rejected UniCredit's claim that it need not pay interest to aircraft leasing company Celestial Aviation Services for late payment of a debt because the payment put it at risk of breaching of UK sanctions against Russia.

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Sri Lanka scraps cash margin on import L/Cs

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has withdrawn with immediate effect a cash margin requirement on import letters of credit (L/Cs) imposed over the previous 12 months.

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ICIEC signs US$42 million reinsurance of documentary credit insurance policy agreement with Saudi Eximbank

The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) says it has signed a US$42 million facultative reinsurance agreement with Saudi Export Import Bank (Saudi Eximbank) for a documentary credit insurance sub-policy limit in favour of Riyadh Bank with a tenor of up to 12 months.

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Awards recognise Contour's blockchain L/C progress

Digital letter of credit (L/C) developer Contour has been awarded for the progress it has made with its digital trade finance solution, most recently for its work to improve commodity trade financing and for its impact on digital trade finance solutions in Saudi Arabia.

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Pakistan's opening of L/C for Russian oil in yuan raises questions

Pakistan has opened a yuan-denominated letter of credit (L/C) with the Bank of China to finance its first purchase of Russian oil which is expected to arrive in the last week of May.

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Trade Technologies announces production release of TradeBridgeAPI Bank

International trade document solutions provider, Trade Technologies, has announced the production release of its TradeBridgeAPI Bank.

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Go First Airways asks court for moratorium to stop lessors invoking L/Cs

Go First Airways, which filed for bankruptcy last week, is seeking a moratorium from India's National Company Law Tribunal (NCTL) to restrain lessors from taking back its aircraft and creditors from cashing guarantees and letters of credit (L/Cs).

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New Opinion from the ICC Banking Commission

The latest ICC Opinion TA930rev from the Banking Commission Meeting held in April 2023 is now available under the Trade Finance Channel of the Digital Library.

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South Korea mulls government support to extend maturity of import L/Cs for key exporters

The South Korean government will consider ways to give preferential discount rates on export bills or extend the maturity of import letters of credit (L/C) for certain exporters as part of its plans to provide comprehensive financial support for the country's exporters.

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Lessors invoke L/Cs as India's Go First Airways collapses

Six lessors of planes have invoked letters of credit (L/Cs) issued to them by banks in respect of aircraft leased to India's Go First Airways which filed for bankruptcy this week.

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Standard Chartered Sri Lanka ready to handle Indian rupee denominated L/Cs

Standard Chartered Sri Lanka has completed its first Indian rupee transaction for a multinational corporate client in the form of an outward telegraphic transfer between Sri Lanka and the bank's office in Mumbai, India.

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India's ICICI Bank joins trend to reduce reliance on US dollar in international trade finance

India's ICICI Bank is adding a rupee vostro account (RVA) to its digital online trade platform that includes letter of credit (L/C) functionality according to an official statement.

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Egypt releasing goods stranded at ports due to foreign currency and L/C shortages

Egypt has been steadily releasing goods left stranded at ports this year due to insufficient foreign currency to cover letters of credit (L/Cs) to secure their release.

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Sanctions and China challenging conventional US dollar denominated L/C transactions

Western sanctions preventing Russia selling oil and other commodities on conventional US dollar denominated letter of credit (L/C) terms via the SWIFT messaging platform may be one factor accelerating the growth of international trade in other currencies and alternative cross-border payment systems.

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Lack of L/Cs halts vehicle production in Pakistan

Restrictions on opening letters of credit (L/Cs) for imports, a chronic foreign exchange crisis and severely disrupted supply chains have forced vehicle manufacturers in Pakistan to extend factory shutdowns as the country teeters on the edge of a full-blown recession.

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First Indian domestic end-to-end blockchain enabled L/C transaction completed on Contour

Citi India says it has completed the first domestic end-to-end blockchain enabled letter of credit (L/C) Transaction on Contour, the blockchain-based trade platform focused on digitising L/C processing,

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AfDB continues rollout of trade finance transaction guarantee facility

The African Development Bank (AfDB) is continuing its efforts to facilitate letter of credit (L/C) flows in Africa by approving a trade finance transaction guarantee facility for Banque Commerciale du Burundi (Bancobu).

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L/C offerings help Regions Bank win SBA honours for helping US-made small-business products into the global marketplace.

The provision of letters of credit (L/Cs) to support export operations of US small businesses has helped Regions Bank win the US Small Business Administration's (SBA's) 2023 Export Lender of the Year Award.

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ICC publishes best practice guidance for documentary credits

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has published a compendium comprising a set of four updated guidance papers on trade finance providing best practices on the usage of documentary credits and compliance with ICC banking rules.

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Banks in Iran and Russia ready to bypass SWIFT to write L/C business

Banks in Iran and Russia are now able to bypass the SWIFT messaging system and conduct letter of credit (L/C) and other trade operations over two interconnected national platforms they have established according to an official at the Central Bank of Iran (CBI).

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MIGA teams up with EBRD to support trade finance for Ukraine and beyond

The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have announced an agreement in which MIGA will issue up to US$200 million in trade finance guarantees to EBRD to support trade transactions conducted through state-owned banks in emerging market and developing economies, with Ukraine being the first country to benefit from this support.

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L/Cs feature in US$1.5 billion ITFC work programme for Egypt

Digitising letters of credit (L/Cs) features in the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation's (ITFC's) 2023 Annual Programme with Egypt.

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Banks' refusal of L/Cs for Kenya's NOC prompts Gulf oil producers to turn to private sector

Africa-focused banks have refused to issue letters of credit (L/Cs) to finance purchases of refined oil products from the Gulf by Kenya's state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC).

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Banking turmoil makes it a good time for landlords to review L/Cs held as lease security

Recent turmoil in the banking market makes it a good time for landlords to "do some spring cleaning" and review any letters of credit (L/Cs) held as lease security, according to a Washington-based real estate attorney at Holland & Knight.

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Cameco to receive refund on some, but not all L/Cs lodged in protracted ongoing tax dispute

The world's largest publicly traded uranium company, Cameco, is to receive a refund on some of the letters of credit (L/Cs) it has posted with the Canadian government in its protracted dispute with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

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Annual Survey of Letter of Credit Law and Practice

91 legal case summaries from the 2017 Annual Survey of Letter of Credit Law and Practice highlighting the most significant trade finance legal cases of 2016-2017.

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London court says sanctions did not allow UniCredit to refuse L/C payments

A court in London gave judgment last week in favour of Celestial Aviation Services in its case against UniCredit after determining that the aircraft lessor made valid demands under letters of credit (L/Cs) last year while UniCredit's view that the demands were invalid was wrong.

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Pan-African Absa CIB close to joining Contour digital trade finance network

Contour has announced that Pan-African Absa Corporate and Investment Bank (Absa CIB) is intent on joining its digital trade finance network and is in the process of finalising negotiations.

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AfDB guarantees for L/C confirmation to help keep correspondent banks in African

Guarantees for letter of credit (L/C) confirmations are included in a US$30 million facility for trade and small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) finance approved by the African Development Bank (AfDB) for Family Bank in Kenya.

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Truzo wins UK regulatory approval for digital escrow L/C alternative

Truzo, an Africa-focused digital escrow platform that offers traders an alternative to letters of credit (L/Cs), has been approved to do business in the UK where it has gained approval from Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

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Surecomp and Contour partner to broaden digital L/C access and address digital interoperability issues

Contour, which is developing a platform that digitises letters of credit (L/Cs), is partnering with Surecomp, which provides back-office applications to provide users with a fully integrated end-to-end trade service solution.

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Advice for landlords holding L/Cs issued by SVB and those where the bank is a tenant

Business law firm Buchalter has published advice to landlords holding letters of credit (L/Cs) issued by Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), and landlords where the collapsed bank is a tenant.

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Developments at Silicon Valley Bank and L/Cs

The decision by the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to place California-based Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) into receivership has raised many questions amongst banks, businesses and other parties to letters of credit (L/Cs) involving the failed tech-specialist bank.

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Indonesia's Bank BTPN partners with Surecomp to support L/C growth

Indonesia's Bank BTPN has chosen to partner with Surecomp to digitise its back-office trade finance processing and support the privately owned bank's growing letter of credit (L/C) business.

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Sri Lanka and India consider trade in Indian rupee as the island's bankrupt economy continues to stymie L/C transactions

Sri Lanka and India are considering the use of the Indian rupee for economic transactions.

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AerCap recoups most L/C proceeds related to Ukraine conflict

The world's biggest aircraft lessor, AerCap, says it has recovered most of the proceeds from letters of credit (L/Cs) related to Russian lessees.

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Contour sets sight on Chinese commodity flows in partnership with TradeGo

Contour, the global digital trade finance network, has announced a strategic partnership with TradeGo, a blockchain-based commodity trading service platform that enables the secure and transparent transfer of electronic bills of lading (eBLs).

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