09 November 2023
Plenary

Registration

Collect your badge from the registration desk and grab a coffee before the first session.

Plenary

Opening remarks

Jonathan Bell
Editor-in-chief,
TXF

Welcome to TXF Geneva 2023: Commodity Finance and Natural Resources! Our annual Geneva commodities week gathering is here, and before we begin a day of discussion on the industry's top trends, from a sector-by-sector run down, to the growing importance of ECAs in the commodity finance world, we will kick off with some welcome remarks and housekeeping points.

Keynote conversation: Top trends in trade

Kona Haque
Head of Research,
ED&F Man
Marc Auboin
Senior Advisor,
World Trade Organisation (WTO)
Moderator
Jonathan Bell
Editor-in-chief,
TXF

To kick off a day of innovative discussions, the opening keynote conversation will feature a presentation from WTO’s Marc Auboin on the highly pressing topic of deglobalisation. He will then be joined on stage by industry experts Kona Haque for an exchange on how these changes are surfacing in the commodities industry.

Keynote crossover panel: Banks and corporates take the stage

Nicolas Jobert
Structured Finance - Head of EMENA,
Trafigura
Jean-Jacques Poublet
Global Head of Commodity Trade Finance,
UBS
Jeff Webster
CFO,
Gunvor
Jacques Erni
Chief Finance Officer,
BB Energy
Patrick Arnaud
Managing Director,
ING Bank
Raman Jaggi
CFO, EET Infra & Head Of Trade Credit,
EET Fuels
Moderator
Hesham Zakai
Managing Director,
TXF

This session gathers the biggest lenders and borrowers in commodities finance, as they ask each other their burning questions. The panel will round off with a family fortunes style gameshow finisher – during which the banks and corporates will form two teams and compete for victory!

·       Are lender and borrower expectations meeting in terms of appetite, pricing, and approach towards sustainability?

·       How are corporates continuing to diversify in terms of liquidity sources, and what role are banks playing in this diversification?

·       What are the biggest opportunities for banks and corporates going forward?

In the main room

Networking coffee break

Grab a coffee during the final break of the day!

Spotlight on corporates: Supporting the supply chain

Natalia Haas
Managing Partner,
Mercator Commodities AG
Hamsika Gopalan
General Manager,
Rescom Holdings
Filippo Bof
Head of Business Development, Africa,
Shell Trading & Shipping
Brian Marcus
GM, Commercial & Corporate Finance,
Seplat Energy
Nick Brown
Structured Trade Finance ,
BP
Moderator
Archie Matheson
Structured Finance & Trader - Africa,
Czarnikow Group Limited

With trader and producer SMEs often left without affordable or attainable bank or alternative lender liquidity, the relationships between corporates is even more crucial at a time when the industry is making constant changes towards a greener future. This panel will look at how medium to large corporates are working with smaller producers to bridge the financing gap, and navigate the energy transition. 

·       Is this support going beyond financing, and towards logistics and hedging support?

·       Can the trading arm of corporates be instrumental to expand the pool of lenders for independent producers, especially in view of the lowering appetite from traditional lenders?

·     How are corporates pushing the energy transition by investing in new technologies and providing funding for low carbon and renewables production? 

Breakout

Industry all play: Carbon credit roundtable

Moderator
Bethanie Castelnuovo
CFO,
SCB Environmental Markets
Moderator
Chamss Ould
Head of Carbon Finance,
Posit Impact

Breaking out from the main room for a more candid and intimate discussion, this roundtable discussion will examine the evolution of carbon credit trading, and what's next for a new and complex sector. 

Sustainable and digital finance: Levelling up

Adam Hearne
CEO & Co-Founder,
CarbonChain
Catherine Lang-Anderson
Partner,
Allen & Overy
Preslav Raykov
Trading Manager,
Magic Flame Swiss SA
Philippe Penet
CFO,
Sucafina
Baptiste Audren
Head of Products and Business Development,
Komgo
Martina Nigi
Head of Sales,
Farmer Connect

Sustainability-linked debt and digital debt instruments have become embedded in commodity finance, but to what extent is this borrowing instrument serving its purpose, and how can it be strengthened?

·       How have the bank’s criteria evolved to become more ambitious and sophisticated? 

·       Are banks embracing automation/digitalisation in sustainability-linked loans?

·       Is the industry any closer to standardization?

Breakout

Stages for change: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion roundtable

Hamsika Gopalan
General Manager,
Rescom Holdings
Mathilde de Mareuil
Vice president,
WISTA Switzerland
Niamh Dennehy-Maher
Counsel,
Allen & Overy
Yasmina Rauber
Secretary General,
Zug Commodity Association (ZCA)

The first breakout session of TXF Geneva 2023 will be a roundtable discussion on how we can encourage more diversity, equity and inclusion within the industry, alongside networking. All are welcome!

Plenary

Networking lunch

Lunch will be served during an extended 90 minute networking break, so eat up and chat away!

Plenary

Corporate case study: The future of digitalization

Olaf Rathgeb
CTO,
Fr. Meyer’s Sohn

This case-study session looks into leveraging supply chain management solutions of global freight forwarding company Fr. Meyer’s Sohn with Enigio's trace:original software for efficient and reliable logistics processes.

Breakout

Pricing and demand outlook: Lithium and nickel

Mark Beveridge
Head of Consultancy,
Benchmark Mineral Intelligence

Lithium and nickel—two commodities that underpin the lithium-ion battery (LiB) demand growth story—demonstrated significant price volatility over the past year. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s Mark Beveridge will address:

·       What are the causes of this volatility in the lithium and nickel markets?

·       How are these two metals markets are being reshaped by the rapid increase in demand for EVs and renewables?

·       How — against the backdrop of increasingly interventionist policy in other regions — is the EU LiB sector is positioned to source these metals in the future?

CPRI rundown: Growth and realignment

Rakesh Ranchhoddas
Bank and Insurance Relations & Global Customer Solutions,
Archer Daniels Midland
Vincent De Spoelberch
Director,
IRIA SA
Tim Tuke
Deputy Head, Commodity Business Centre,
Bank of China
George Bellord
Director,
BPL Global
Moderator
Kyri Evagora
Partner,
Reed Smith

This session will comprise providers and both bank and corporate customers of CPRI, to discuss what’s really going on in the market, and how CPRI is currently performing and evolving to meet changing needs.

·       How is the CPRI market evolving in terms of supply and demand, deal types, sectors, and risk appetite?

·       What role can CPRI play in supporting the more complex deals? How do insurers underwrite such deals?

·       How is the CPRI market supporting ESG initiatives?

Breakout

Increasing security in energy transition metals: Is structure the way forward?

Enrique Rico
CFA,
Santander Corporate & Investment Banking
Manuel Teijeiro
Director,
Control Union Collateral Services
Marcos Camhis
CEO,
FOS Asset Management
Orhan Gunes
Founder | Managing Director,
TradeQraft
Wolfram Kuoni
Chairman,
Ferrexpo AG
Moderator
Peter Hopkins
Managing Director,
Drum Risk Limited

With governments set on net zero by 2050, the metals used to manufacture the respective green infrastructure is the sectors to watch. But the space has been hit with a number of fraud cases over the past year, which is impacting bank capacity. 

·       Could we see a big increase in structured commodity finance in the metals sector?

·       How is due diligence, checks, and collateral management improving?

·       Manufacturers have started to take an increasingly hands-on role in providing pre-payments, what does this mean for the industry?    

Plenary

Afternoon networking break

The final coffee break of the day

Plenary

Two world collide: The changing nature of commodity finance

Rebekah Fajemirokun
Head of Trade Finance,
Eminent Energy Limited
James Lowrey
Head of Structured Trade & Commodity Finance,
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC)
Yannick Luce
Chief Financial Officer,
BGN International

In this session, we hear from the commodity traders which have closed ECA-backed deals on why the export finance market is becoming increasingly appealing as a borrowing tool, and the ECAs outline their requirements from traders.

·       How is this crossover gaining importance and momentum amid the energy transition?

·       What can commodity traders do to attract ECA financing?

·       Is this a debt model that’s here to stay?

Plenary

Closing remarks

Jonathan Bell
Editor-in-chief,
TXF

Some brief closing remarks will round off a dynamic day of content, before guests head to the cocktail reception for some more networking over drinks.

Plenary

Cocktail reception & LinkedIn headshots

Geneva 2023: Commodity Finance and Natural Resources will go out with a bang as drinks are served during our networking cocktail reception! There will also be an opportunity to get a new LinkedIn headshot from our photographer, so look out for the photo station.

08 November 2023
Stream

Pre-icebreaker walking tour!

Meet in the lobby of the Hotel President Wilson, and join us for a brilliant guided walking tour of Geneva, which will bring you back to the Hotel President Wilson in time for our icebreaker drinks reception.

Stream

Icebreaker: TXF- Reed Smith Commodity Cocktail

Yasmina Rauber
Secretary General,
Zug Commodity Association (ZCA)
Alexander Peters
Board Member ,
Commodity Club Switzerland
Hesham Zakai
Managing Director,
TXF
Aife Howse
Commodities content manager,
Reed Smith

TXF Geneva 2023: Commodity finance and natural resources will kick off the night before the conference with an extended cocktail drinks reception. Guests will be welcomed by a series of keynote speeches delivered by industry VIPs, followed by a fun evening of drinks and networking! - A welcome from Simone Goligorsky, Partner, Reed Smith - The latest in maritime from Yasmina Rauber, Secretary General, Zug Commodity Association - The outlook for critical battery minerals, Alexander Peters, Board Member, Commodity Club Switzerland

Spotlight on corporates: Supporting the supply chain

Natalia Haas
Managing Partner,
Mercator Commodities AG
Hamsika Gopalan
General Manager,
Rescom Holdings
Filippo Bof
Head of Business Development, Africa,
Shell Trading & Shipping
Brian Marcus
GM, Commercial & Corporate Finance,
Seplat Energy
Nick Brown
Structured Trade Finance ,
BP
Moderator
Archie Matheson
Structured Finance & Trader - Africa,
Czarnikow Group Limited

With trader and producer SMEs often left without affordable or attainable bank or alternative lender liquidity, the relationships between corporates is even more crucial at a time when the industry is making constant changes towards a greener future. This panel will look at how medium to large corporates are working with smaller producers to bridge the financing gap, and navigate the energy transition. 

·       Is this support going beyond financing, and towards logistics and hedging support?

·       Can the trading arm of corporates be instrumental to expand the pool of lenders for independent producers, especially in view of the lowering appetite from traditional lenders?

·     How are corporates pushing the energy transition by investing in new technologies and providing funding for low carbon and renewables production?