A new trade finance solution not yet available in the Middle East is catching on fast in Western financial markets, it has emerged.

Bank Payment Obligations (BPOs) is a payment instrument that's less risky than an open-account transaction and more automated than traditional letters of credit, chartered accountants told a conference of their peers at the Diplomat Radisson Blu Hotel, Residence and Spa in Bahrain, reported the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

Speaking during the Bahrain Chapter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India's (BCICAI) monthly seminar, Dubai-based Nimai Management Consultants' founder partner Pankaj Mundra and his colleague Nisarg Dugad said the International Chamber of Commerce and SWIFT have come up with the solution to simplify supply-chain finance for import-export.

Companies in Bahrain and the Middle East can tap BPOs through consultants and multinational banks, they said.

Their presentation covered various aspects of trade finance including letters of credit and structured financing.

The experts spoke about how businesses could reduce their borrowing costs through the use of structured financing and different types of letters of credit.

They also shared information about credit insurance for businesses dealing with difficult markets like Africa and possibilities of corporates raising loans with tenors up to 12 years for new projects from multinational banks, especially machineries imported from select countries at a very efficient interest rate.

The meeting was attended by more than 200 chartered accountants and guests including chief financial officers of some of the top organisations in Bahrain.

Mundra also announced that Nimai Consultants Dubai will be partnering with BCICAI for the chapter's annual international conference themed "Together Towards Tomorrow; CAs as Strategic Partners" to be held on November 28 and 29 in the kingdom. - TradeArabia News Service