Singapore-based specialist international shipping and commodity law firm Helmsman LLC is organising a Masterclass on commodity trading contracts at the SMU Law Academy in March 2021.

The Masterclass is designed for experienced commodity trading personnel (legal, credit, risk, compliance, traders and operations) interested in developing a deeper understanding and higher level of expertise in commodity trading contracts.

Participants should have at least an intermediate level (3 years and up) of experience in commodity trading.

“Commodity trading law is fast emerging as a specialist practice. This area of law is particularly important to Singapore, being a major international commodity trading hub,” a Helmsman spokeswoman told Manifold Times.

“The commodity trading contract is a vital document for commodity traders. Often, it determines who makes and who loses money when things go wrong. It is a complex document and its implications are often overlooked.”

The six-hour course will be taught by class-leading commodities trading specialist lawyers – Ian Teo (Managing Director, Helmsman LLC) and Chen Zhida (Associate Director, Helmsman LLC) – who will share real life case studies and experience to illustrate the practical application of commodities trading law.

The one-day course is seminar-based and revolve around hypothetical problems based on real life cases discussed in an interactive setting.

The issues which will be discussed in-depth include:

• When is a valid and binding transaction concluded? This issue is especially important in a volatile market. Traders are often faced with a situation where counterparties try to renege on a deal when the prices fall or rise rapidly. How can traders protect themselves and achieve certainty?
• What happens if there is a quality or quantity disputes? Issues relating to final and binding analysis, and evidence collection. – Payment terms and security – examining risks in unsecured trade, letters of credit issues and how to “secure” the payment
• Shipping issues – laycan, delivery period and various INCOTERMS
• When can you terminate a contract? This issue often arises in a rapidly rising or falling market. Can a trader validly terminate a contract in order to take advantage of the volatile market?
• How much money can you claim when the other trader breaches the contract? This is a complicated area of the law – we will also examine what kind of losses can be claimed and whether hedging losses can be included.
• Insolvency of the other trader – how do you protect yourself against insolvency risk?

Details of the Legal Issues in Commodity Trading Contracts course:

Date: 4 March 2021
Time: 10:00 AM – 5:30 PM
Venue: Singapore Management University School of Law
Practise Area: Admiralty Practice / Shipping
Training Level: Advanced
Registration: 25 February 2021 (Last day)

Note: Interested participants may register through the link here.

Published: 5 February, 2021