COMPLEXCOUNTRIES
The Global Treasury Intelligence Network
Treasury & FX in Egypt
Treasury & FX in Egypt
Call date: 12th Feb 2019
In this call, members shared their approaches to Treasury & FX in Egypt, including:
- Access to hard currency
- Hedging
- International banks
The call was chaired by Damian Glendinning whose key takeaways are listed below.
Please contact us if you would like a copy of the full report
Premium members can and subscribers can download the full report here.
Key Takeaways
- Egypt is a prime example of how you need a different mindset in complex countries. Two years ago, we would have just heard tales of woe and people struggling to keep basic operations running. Now, it is beginning to work again. But for how long? These countries have cycles: it is important not to despair during the difficult periods, and not to get carried away during the good ones.
- For the time being, FX is readily available and most people are managing to get cash out.
- International banks have a thin presence on the ground, so it is advisable to work with local ones, including banks from other Middle Eastern countries or the Gulf. These may not have the most sophisticated products or the best technology, but they are improving and they have an appetite for the region, and their capabilities are improving.
- Hedging is a challenge, due to poor liquidity in the markets – but this situation is improving.
- In many cases, companies are finding they get the best results in Egypt, either through running offshore or US dollar based businesses, or by going fully onshore with local shareholders, and transferring in activities from elsewhere to maximise local talent and available cash.
- Overall, I think this is a good example of how a country which has been in a very difficult situation can improve. But I think there is a danger that our discussion may become too much of a point in time debate. Do we expect things to turn down again in the future (I do, but not for a few years). And, if so, what are we doing to prepare the company for that?
Premium members can and subscribers can download the full report here.
KYC (Know Your Customer)
Here is Damian Glendinning’s article based on our Treasury Peer Call on KYC (Know Your Customer) which took place on 26th February 2019.
This is an area where there is a lot of frustration, and all treasurers feel they are spending far too much time and resources on it. The situation is further complicated by a lack of consistency, and by data privacy laws, which make it difficult to collect and store the personal data of bank signatories. But the group had several interesting solutions, including how to define the data being stored so as to avoid the data privacy rules, using in-house data bases to store documents, and getting a notary to certify that they have seen all the source documents, thereby eliminating the need to provide copies again and again. There may be hope in SWIFT’s new central repository, but that does not yet seem to have the buy-in of the several of the world’s major cash management banks (*this has changed since the discussion took place).
Treasury & FX in Brazil
Treasury & FX in Brazil
Call date: 30th Jan 2019
In this call, members shared their approaches to Treasury & FX in Brazil, including:
- Receivables
- Funding
- Hedging
- Cash Repatriation
The call was chaired by Simon Jones whose key takeaways
Please contact us if you would like a copy of the full report
Premium members can and subscribers can download the full report here.
Key Takeaways
- Receivables are moving from paper to electronic, but Boletos continue to be challenging to achieve automated straight through reconciliation.
- Capital Injections & Hedging, continues to be challenging and requires extensive planning and work to make sure there are no delays.
- Cash Repatriation & Hedging, seems to be easier as long as documentation is correctly in place.
- Cautious optimism for the economy in the year ahead.
Premium members can and subscribers can download the full report here.
Treasury & FX in Russia
Treasury & FX in Russia
Call date: 30th Jan 2019
In this call, members discussed their approaches to treasury, FX and cash management in Russia.
The call was chaired by Arnaud Francq whose Key Take Outs are set out below
Please contact us if you would like a copy of the full report (6 pages)
Premium members can and subscribers can download the full report here.
Key Take Outs
- Documentation – complex, time consuming & critical
- Inter banks – 2 way pooling is available in theory but not at all straight forward in practice
- Find hedging banks- operating outside to inside
- Sanctions are very specific – details are key and need to be looked at closely
Premium members can and subscribers can download the full report here.
WORKING CAPITAL Policy: manage the level? How to handle the business trade-offs?
The Working Capital Series Part I
In this recorded presentation, Damian Glendinning identifies the trade-offs that corporates need to make when establishing a Working Capital Policy.
The Working Capital Series comprises six presentations on working capital:
1.Policy: manage the level? – How to handle the business trade-offs?
2.How do we fund it? – On or off balance sheet? Long or short term?
3.Instruments – factoring, LCs, etc. – and the accounting treatment.
4.Accounting, measurements, incentives and KPIs
5.New technology and funders – internet portals
6.Business creep – keeping up with changes in the business model
Notes on china
Notes on China
Call date: 22nd Nov 2018
This report comprises Damian Glendinning’s commentary on some of the issues raised in our Treasury peer Call on Repatriating Cash from China which took place on 22nd Nov 2018.
Click here to view all our reports on China
Premium members can and subscribers can download the full report here.
Click here to view all our reports on China
Topics covered in this report
- Flexibility is Key
- Internal pooling arrangements
- Banker’s acceptance drafts
- Structure
- Banking system
Premium members can and subscribers can download the full report here.
repatriating cash from china
Repatriating cash from China
Call date: 22nd Nov 2018
In this call, members discussed cash repatriation from China, including: Dividends, Cross-border pooling, Entrustment loans and Euro invoicing.
The call was expert chaired by Simon Jones, whose conclusion appears below.
Click here to view all our reports on China
Chair’s conclusion
Cash can be liberated from China. Dividends are the most robust route to doing this, but cross border sweeping is back in action and working for some corporates. Getting the right local concentration structure is important to leveraging a cross border liberation of cash offshore and can be done in a tax effective way. Invoicing cross border is an equally important topic and as businesses grow tends to become more in local currency via local entities and therefore means more potential cash in China to repatriate in the future
Premium members can and subscribers can download the full report here.
Treasury & FX in Turkey
Treasury & FX in Turkey
Call date: 12th Dec 2018
In this call, members shared their approaches to Treasury & FX in Turkey, including:
- Currency issues
- Financing
- Hedging
- Credit insurance
The call was chaired by Arnaud Francq whose key takeaways are listed below.
Please contact us if you would like a copy of the full report
Premium members can and subscribers can download the full report here.
Key Takeaways
- A number of participants have local distribution but import products from outside Turkey, this creates a mismatch between sourcing in EUR/USD and sale in TRY causing currency exposure.
- Local financing is becoming very expensive, some companies are focusing on reducing local borrowing/debt as a matter of priority.
- Hedging is becoming very expensive, in some cases, it might be easier to limit the currency exposure of the local entity and centralize hedging at HQ level.
- Currency volatility is creating increased challenges for reporting (mark to market) .
- As the economic conditions are becoming more challenging, some participants observed some lengthening of payment terms.
- Increasing limits for local credit insurance is becoming more and more difficult
Premium members can and subscribers can download the full report here.
