Sincere thanks to our Sponsor, Coface, for our Monday Evening Networking Dinner

FCIB Sunday Evening Welcome Reception

Join fellow FCIB members, guests, speakers and panellists as we meet and greet each other for an informal hour of drinks and canapés in a relaxed setting!

Monday Morning

Keynote Speech

As the drums continue to beat throughout the Eurozone, what will the future hold for countries such as Greece, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Portugal? Have Central and Eastern European Countries completely recovered after the crisis? What is the current economic outlook for the CEE region?

We continue to experience uncertainties in the Middle East while Asia appears to enjoy spectacular growth in many sectors: are emerging markets at risk because of political unrest or overheating? Will China continue its economic dominance and where are the risks in the Chinese economy? Can we expect a double-dip in the U.S.?

As always, answers to these queries/questions and much more will be addressed in this year's Autumn conference as Yves Zlotowski, Chief Economist from Coface, based in Paris, takes us on a trip around the global economic hotspots and gives his views and opinions on issues which have a direct impact on anyone engaged in the world of trade credit and risk analysis.

Coffee and Networking sponsored by KSI International

Supply Chain Financing

What are the current trends in Secured Payment methods? This session will give up–to-the-minute information on electronic-invoicing, Trade Service Utilities (TSU) and how new technology impacts on the accounts receivable function within major corporations. Our speakers will come together from the world of Industry and Banking to impart their most recent experiences and give their views on the latest technological advances.

Speakers:
David Hennah, Senior Product Manager, Swift, London, United Kingdom
David Vermylen, Credit Manager, BP Chemicals Limited
Christian Schaefer ,Director , Deutsche Bank, Frankfurt, Germany

News from the Banking World

The session will continue on the theme of Supply Chain Financing with up-to-date news on both SEPA and BASEL III. With BASEL II poised to have far-reaching consequences on the way in which corporations transact their business, we will highlight how the legislation impacts on the supply chain in general. What about Trade Finance? Will it survive or will the deposits required on working capital drive business away? Has SEPA reached the end of its tortuous path in legislative processes or is there still more to do? What effect will the Single European Payment Area have on Accounts Receivable and will it reduce DSO?

Speakers:
Christian Schaefer Director , Deutsche Bank, Frankfurt, Germany
Elisabeth Sutter-Becska, Vice President, Head of Global Export Finance Department, Raiffeisen Bank International, Vienna, Austria
Martin Thomas, Managing Director, J. P Morgan, Frankfurt, Germany

Lunch and Networking

Monday Afternoon

International Arbitration: To arbitrate or litigate? That is the question!

International Arbitration has evolved over the past 50 years, and it is now at the forefront of most corporate thinking when it comes to finding a solution to a complex and sometimes messy problem. In these tough global economic conditions, so much is riding on successful and timely cash collections and most corporates cannot afford endless time lapses in resolving major disputes which could be responsible for holding up millions on any one particular account.

This session will provide some very interesting case studies whilst also examining

• The role of the international credit manager in providing good documentation
• Co-ordination of other countrywide credit departments in submitting documentation
• What is regarded as evidence in such cases? What type of evidence should be provided?
• Best Practice working techniques
• How to work together with staff internally to minimise external expenditure

Speakers:
Martin Aronksy, Global Supply Chain Contract and Claims Manager - ALSTOM (Switzerland) Ltd.
Kai Engelsberg, Associate, PASCHEN Rechtsanwälte, Berlin, Germany

Open Forum Q & A Session

Getting answers to questions on credit-related and country-specific topics is the primary aim of this very interactive and thought-provoking session.

Topics as diverse as trading in the Ukraine to handling new systems implementation are poured over and addressed by the FCIB panel of experts drawn from our membership.

Moderator:
Martine Zimmermann – F Hoffmann la Roche, Basel, Switzerland

Panellists:
Stiene Celis – DSM Business Support – Manager Credit Risk Assessment Center
Koert Eefting Teamleader Credit Control, Propex Fabrics GmbH, Gronau, Germany
Mark Harrison, Credit Manager, PPG Industries, Prague, Czech Republic
Sandro Wicht-Wright, Credit Risk Officer Europe, Suntech Power International Ltd, Switzerland

Tuesday

Doing Business in Central and Eastern Europe and the Black Sea Rim

This session will guide us through countries such as Turkey, Poland, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Romania and Bulgaria. We will examine the cultural and legal aspects of doing business within the CEE region and listen to first-hand experience from major corporates.

Doing Business in China

After major success with its “Doing Business in” series, FCIB is proud to present Doing Business in China

The session will firstly examine cultural aspects and provide some up-to-the-minute demographics whilst also examining the major legal issues relevant to credit managers in collecting accounts receivables and settling disputes. Our speaker will also address:

• How to evaluate credit risk
• How to gain access to a company’s financials
• How to collect debts which are subject to dispute

Speaker:
Stanki Yuen PhD, Msc, International Risk Management Consultancy (iRmc) – Hong Kong