A Borrowers Guide to the APLMA Investment Grade Syndicated Facility Agreement

Australian law firm Herbert Geer has produced a useful guide to the Asia Pacific Loan Markets Association Investment Grade Syndicated Facility Agreement (and project financing documentation), which addresses important issues including:

• The basis on which courts interpret financing documents;
• Issues to be considered in financial ratio's;
• The extent to which the APLMA documents reflect the market standards;
• Current market conditions and points for treasurers to make when negotiating their financing documents; and
• Key issues for borrowers to consider about their business when looking at their financing documents.

All non-members wanting a copy, please contact Andrew Venables, artner, Herbert Geer via phone +613 9641-8712 or email: avenables@herbertgeer.com.au

Accessing the CNH Market for Cost Effective Working Capital

Article by Standard Chartered, August 2011

While the evolution of the Chinese yuan (CNY) trade settlement scheme has attracted
much attention, recent developments in the offshore CNY bond market in Hong Kong
have opened up an alternative funding channel for foreign corporations wishing to do
business on the Mainland. This article examines these developments and outlines the new opportunities they present for cross-border trade settlement.  Read full article.

 

Riding the Super-cycle - New Corridors of Growth

Article by George Nast, Global Head, Product Management, Transaction Banking, Standard Chartered

The growth of trade and investment between developing countries has had a major influence on the profitability of both global corporations and domestic companies operating in those countries. In the next two decades these developing corridor flows will become even more important in the context of the current economic super-cycle. The nature of the inherent trade and investment relationships will also change fundamentally. This article outlines the evolution of these flows and their implications for corporate treasuries. Read More
 
 

Hedge Accounting under IFRS - all set for change - Commentary from Ernst & Young

‘Reducing complexity’ has become a familiar term to those who follow the International Accounting Standard Board’s (the IASB or the Board) project on financial instruments. Keeping with the theme, the Board has just released Exposure Draft — Hedge Accounting (ED) with proposals to substantially simplify hedge accounting under IFRS.

The ED is the third phase of the IASB’s ongoing project to replace IAS 39. However,
proposals relating to macro (portfolio) hedge accounting are not included in the ED, but will be released later in 2011.

In this supplement, we take a look at the main complexities of hedge accounting under IAS 39 and how the IASB proposes to simplify the requirements in the new standard — IFRS 9 Financial Instruments.
 

Hedge Accounting Exposure Draft - Commentary from Deloitte

Thursday 9 December 2010. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has published for public comment an exposure draft on the accounting for hedging activities. The exposure draft proposes requirements designed to enable companies to better reflect their risk management activities in their financial statements, and, in turn, help investors to understand the effect of those activities on future cash flows.

The proposed model is principle-based, and is designed to more closely align hedge accounting with risk management activities undertaken by companies when hedging their financial and non-financial risk exposures.

July IASB meeting - Pushing on towards the next wave

Deloitte have released the Australian meeting summary from the July IASB meeting held on 19-23 July 2010 to including the on-going debate on the leases project, decisions on the consolidation project, eligibility criteria for the hedge accounting project and highlights from the income tax project.

New Dividend Requirements

The Australian retail corporate bond market: now rising from the depths?

Blake Dawson Senior Associates James Morris, Bronwyn Kirkwood and Graduate Nicole Pedler

ASIC's new Class Order [CO 10/321], released on 12 May 2010, may go some way to developing a more active retail bond market in Australia. The new Class Order is aimed at helping to simplify and reduce the time and expense involved in issuing into that market.

Hedge Accounting during the Crisis: What worked, what didn’t, and what happens next?

Reval (May 25) Hedge accounting was not immune to the challenges of the global financial crisis. Organisations that had achieved hedge accounting easily in the past began to fail the criteria laid out in IAS 39 and FAS 133. What were the root causes of these failures?