J)eal of the month
IT Update
100% Cotton
WHAT'S NewS Issue 2 February 1997
info exchange
15
The deal: USD 23.6 million pre-
export finance for Uzbecki
cotton
The cliënt: Louis Dreyfus Cotton
International, Belgium
The players: Rogier Delcroix
(corporate banking) and Ivo van
den Nest (legal department),
Antwerp; Erik van de Peer
(corporate finance), Brussels;
Fred van Hedel and Piet Bijlard
(international trade finance), and
Leonie Westerhof (legal
department), Utrecht; and Toon
Bullens, Interpolis Reinsurance.
Intense cooperation between the
Jaank's Belgian and Utrecht
^rerations led to the successful
closure of what can only be
described as a very special deal.
Antwerp's cliënt, Louis Dreyfus
Cotton International was
Trom the left to the right: Ivo
van den Nest, Eric van de Peer
^^jid Rogier Delcroix.
looking ahead
Toon Bullens, Interpolis
Reinsurance.
looking for a cotton pre-export
finance of USD 23.6 million for
Uzmarkazimpex of Tashkent.
This was no easy assignment and
the team was not only required
to come up with creative ideas,
but also had to carry out
extensive research into cotton
production in Uzbekistan in
order to prepare the vast number
of proposals needed for this deal.
Says Fred van Hedel: 'That alone
would make this deal special.
But I think it's exceptional for
two other reasons. One is that
country risk on Uzbekistan is
generally rated as exceptionally
high. As a result, only a very few
banks are prepared or even able
to handle a deal like this. We've
shown that Rabobank
International is one of them
because we have been able to
Answer from page 2
SWIFT is the abbreviation for
Society for Worldwide Interbank
Financial Telecommunications.
structure this deal creatively. By
putting together a cluster of
guarantors and counter-
guarantees from sister company
Interpolis Reinsurance, we have
maintained our own country
limit of USD 3 million and have
simultaneously strengthened the
relationship with the cliënt.'
The second is that the players
have insured a transaction for
the first time with a so-called
'private insurer'. This has been a
real learning curve,' Van Hedel
confirms. 'With the experience
we have gained from negotiating
policy conditions with brokers
and underwriters, we believe we
have found a method of placing
country and transactions risks
with insurers.'
Fred van Hedel (left) and Piet
Bijlard.
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we will keep you informed
about major developments.
Rabobank's now annual
international F&A conference is
fast approaching. Cotton is a
fascinating topic because its
production is merely the
beginning of a long chain of
relationships that ultimately
lead to the end-user. In recent
decades, the textile industry has
undergone major changes as
production shifted rapidly to
Asia, mainly at the expense of
Western Europe. It is these
developments and a whole
range of related topics, such as
new technology, risk man
agement and environmental
issues which have attracted
participants from all over the
world. Says Rod Campbell of
Rabo Australia's corporate
banking: 'The level of interest in
the conference from the local
industry here has been very high
and we expect a large number
of delegates to attend. This
annual conference is well
regarded now and it will help
raise our profile as "knowledge
bank", rather than merely a
provider of credit.'
The conference will be held in
San Francisco on March 12 to 14.
Rod Campbell, Rabo Australia
February
12-13
25-26
March
3-4
12-14
12-15
25-26
April
14-17
May
7-9
q^22-23
Roadshow Switzerland
International Bond Congres, London
Fruit Conference, London
VIV Asia, Bangkok
World Cotton Conference, San Francisco
European GM conference, Netherlands
Studies
March
Roadshow Tokyo
VIV Latin America,Sao Paulo
UNICO Conference, Maastricht
Fresh Fruit
KATOEN
POLIS
Kantoor
Antwerpen,
Brussel en
Utrecht wisten met behulp van
Interpolis Reinsurance de bijna
onmogelijke exportvoor
financiering voor Louis Dreyfus
Cotton Intl.op Uzmarkazimpex
in Tashkent rond te krijgen.
Hiervoor was niet alleen een
grondige studie van de
katoenproductie in
Uzbekistan, maar ook het
trotseren van het extreem
hoge landenrisico,door
het inschakelen van
een private verzekeraar,
noodzakelijk.