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China Reopens and Talent

What people are talking about A research report by Hindenburg Research has led to accusations against Gautam Adani and his empire causing a USD 50bn selloff, internal panic, and rebuffs from the group. The wider commodity world and particularly those with links to India is closely watching as this evolves. McKinsey has released a report…

What people are talking about

A research report by Hindenburg Research has led to accusations against Gautam Adani and his empire causing a USD 50bn selloff, internal panic, and rebuffs from the group. The wider commodity world and particularly those with links to India is closely watching as this evolves.

McKinsey has released a report stating that the commodity trading sector will have to find an extra USD 300bn – 500bn in working capital to keep going as high-interest rates, volatile prices, and the war in Ukraine have made it significantly more expensive to finance commodity trade.

As the Biden administration’s plan to encourage the growth of the renewables sector gains further traction, there is a strong uptick of interest in being able to leverage the by-products of biofuel processing coming out of the USA.

On Ags: As container freight rates remain stable (though are forecasted to decline towards pre-pandemic levels across 2023 due to incoming new builds), there has been an ongoing current amongst existing players towards expanding the capability of traditionally bulk-focused trading into boxes.

What we are currently working on

  • Asia CFO – Metals Trading House, Singapore
  • OTC Commodity Sales, Singapore
  • Base Metals Strategist, Singapore
  • Commodity Quant Analyst, Singapore
  • CME Derivatives Trader, Global
  • Head of China Thermal Coal, Shanghai or Beijing
  • China Coal Marketing Manager, Shanghai or Beijing
  • Australian Coal Book Manager, Australia
  • Grains and Oilseed Trader, Singapore, Global
  • Soft Commodity Trader, Singapore, Global
  • Head of Dairy Trading, Singapore, Global

If you are interested in any of these roles, please reach out to us via the contact details at the end of this newsletter. Alternatively, click here for more jobs.

China Reopens and Talent

The reopening of China to the world after three long years arrived just before the Lunar New Year festivities started and spurred hope of economic recovery.

Commodity traders and market participants have high expectations for what this will mean for the market and are getting prepared in terms of looking to strengthen benches onshore and for those trading the markets from overseas.

Metals and hard commodities have already seen prices push higher, with industrial metals already up 20% since November, with tin leading the charge and seeing a rally of 80%. There is increasing positivity that the property market will recover, building projects restarted and we will see increased investment in the renewable energy space domestically.

Oil is still seen as the “wild card,” especially since Russian and other grades of fuels cannot be touched by some of the international players, it is still providing a tricky market to have an edge as a US or European trading house.

Aurex Group has always had deep routes into China and since the beginning of Covid, placement volumes and market moves tracked have fallen however since the end of 2022 we are seeing more and more demand from our clients for talent based in China (predominantly Shanghai and Beijing), and from Chinese trading companies and producers looking to internationalise, particularly in base metals, coal, and iron ore.

If you are looking for advice on how to approach the Chinese market from a talent perspective, or are indeed a commodities individual looking for new opportunities, please get in touch to have a conversation.

Gong Xi Fa Cai! Xin Nian Kuai Le!

Market Moves

  • Jasline Tan has joined Cargill in Singapore as a Trader, previously with Continental Palms.
  • Jingwei Chen has relocated to Singapore from Germany at RWE as a Trader.
  • Rason Chen has joined Xiangyu Singapore as a Metals Trader, previously with Parthnon Derivatives.
  • Henri Jean Bardon has joined AirCarbon Exchange in Abu Dhabi as Director of Biofuels, previously with Idimitsu.
  • Rita Ren has joined Trafigura in Shanghai as a Metals Trader, previously with Louis Dreyfus.
  • Naveen Putcha has joined Cubist Systematic Systems as a Portfolio Manager, previously with Morgan Stanley.
  • Chandler Ling has joined Global Transit Trading as a Senior Trading Manager, previously with Tradeland.
  • Allan Grieg has joined Macquarie Bank as Division Director, previously with Freepoint.
alex.jpg
Alex Kerr
Director | Partner

+65 3165 0710

alex@aurexgroup.com

EA 18S9493 | R1328009

John O.jpg
​John Ong
Associate Director

+65 3165 0710

john.ong@aurexgroup.com

EA 18S9493 | R1658515