Ralf Schwarzhaupt, CEO, managing partner at Jebsen & Jessen Industrial Solutions, cautions that global uncertainty is making investors shy away from long term decisions. Regulation, the drift away from level playing fields in ECA financing, and banks being bottlenecks to refinancing also matter. Even so, export deals are getting structured, particularly in Africa. Pragmatism and flexibility are key to navigate through complexity and uncertainty.

TXF spoke with Preslav Raykov, global head of trading at Eleen Marine about the importance of risk controls in the present geopolitical environment as well as strategies for aligning stakeholders across commodity supply chains.

The fourth edition of the UN International Conference on Financing for Development at last recognised the role played by ECAs in development. Moment is building around the blended finance model, even if discussions remain largely theoretical at this stage. The gap between development and trade is narrowing, but will emerging markets stand to benefit?