Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) has approved Rabobank, a Dutch multinational banking and financial services company, to issue Letters of Credit (LCs) for trading directly from Singapore.

Rabobank will issue LCs directly from Singapore to guarantee deliveries of Oman Blend crude oil through the DME, helping to create a more efficient, cost-effective and reliable trading ecosystem around the exchange, said a statement.

Christopher Fix, chief executive of DME, said: “Asian markets have been driving the bulk of global demand and have formed the fulcrum of DME’s sustained growth, and our success in creating a robust financing framework that effectively addresses the trading needs of our customers in Asia will further add to our customer value proposition.

“DME has seen a steady upturn in volumes as well as in new trading participants, and we are committed to supporting the needs of our expanding customer base by providing them with a thriving and sustainable trading environment.”

Tim Kümpel, head of Trade and Commodity Finance, Energy at Rabobank Singapore, said: “We are delighted to partner with DME on this initiative which will enable clients across Asia to take advantage of direct issuance of LCs from Singapore. The approval follows sustained joint efforts to facilitate a more efficient and secure environment for our mutual clients to trade on DME.

“Rabobank's trade and commodity finance capabilities facilitate successful import and export transactions worldwide, and with the support of our extensive international network, we are committed to ensure that clients seeking to trade on DME will find issuance of LCs a more expeditious and straight-forward process.” - TradeArabia News Service