CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE – Sean Edwards, ITFA Chairman / Head of Legal and Special Adviser to the Global Trade Finance Department at SMBC, Mar 2023

Dear Members and Friends,

Abu Dhabi here we come! As I am sure you are aware by now, this year’s conference, the 49th edition, will be held in Abu Dhabi – the capital of the United Arab Emirates between the 11 and 13 October, 2023 at the luxurious Ritz Carlton, Abu Dhabi Grand Canal Hotel. Earlier on this month we have launched hence we urge you to start registering by clicking here.

Happy to report that whilst we kept last year’s price tag, we will be giving more to the participants as we added a full morning on Wednesday with more panels and speakers AND extra opportunities for networking. In addition to the dedicated networking session, participants this year will have the luxury of using the networking space which will be specifically set up and made available throughout the duration of the conference. The conference week will actually open on Tuesday 10^th October when we will be holding our Educational Seminar, which we boast to be a one-of-a-kind program taught by ITFA Board members and a number of senior Emerging Leaders, all of whom are active in the market. The conference will then officially commence on Wednesday 11 October where we anticipate welcoming a record number of participants. I invite you to visit the conference website and take advantage of the Super Early Bird prices.

May I also take the opportunity to officially thank our Sponsors for their generosity and immense support, while informing readers that a number of sponsorship opportunities are still available. I invite you to view latest sponsorship brochure, Sponsorship Opportunities or send us an email to info@itfa.org if you require any further information.

As reported in the February newsletter we have once again partnered with GTR, this time in Cape Town. Lorna Pillow and I had the pleasure to present the Uniform Rules of Transferable Payment Obligations (URTEPO), our new rules for the sale of digital debt instruments, while Duarte Pedreira was in action moderating a panel tackling FX and Liquidity in the African region. 

March was a busy month as we also hosted several in person events. It started off with the NERC Winter Seminar and Networking Event, two Emerging Leaders events in London and Dubai, as well as another two well attended regional committee seminars and networking session which we hosted in Australia and Spain. Our biggest event of the month was the inaugural Trade & investment Forum organised with BCR and held at SMBC’s London headquarters. We explored, with the 130 registered delegates, the challenges and opportunities of bringing non-bank investors into the trade finance market looking at technology, legal and rating issues and possible solutions.

Our webinar of the month looked at the new price cap regulations on Russian crude oil and oil products. 

Please keep following us on social media or visit our events calendar by clicking here.

In this March edition of the ITFA Newsletter you can read about the trade finance funds landscape, ITFA events in London and ITFA’s participation in GTR Dubai as well as an article celebrating International Women’s Day; our final article looks at remaining uncertainty in global chains and trade finance.

Lastly, we are proud to welcome the following new members to ITFA: Asian Development Bank (ADB), CRX Markets, C2FO, International Metal Platform AG, TradeSun, vabble.io and Yapi Kredi Nederland.

We look forward to hearing from you with any feedback you may want to share with us by sending an email to myself, any of the Board Members or to our general email, info@itfa.org.

Best wishes

Sean Edwards