Tradition and RS Platou to launch FFA broking desk in Nordic region
9 May 2008 - Tradition, a leading interdealer broker, today announces that it has agreed to establish a joint venture with RS Platou Shipbrokers A.S., a leading Norwegian ship-broking company.
Under the terms of the agreement, a team of Tradition brokers will be based in RS Platou's offices in Oslo. They will broker Dry Forward Freight Agreements (FFA), a derivative of existing shipping capacity.
Dry freight includes light coal, wheat and iron ore, compared with 'wet freight' such as oil. The Dry FFA market is growing fast. According to a recent estimate, trading in freight derivatives doubled to $115bn last year because of record shipping prices and increased demand for the contracts from banks.
"Tradition is delighted to open an office in the Nordic region for FFAs," says Michael Anderson, Head of Energy Trading at Tradition. "We believe the combination of Tradition's expertise in Derivative markets and RS Platou's reputation in the shipping world will provide a compelling and exciting prospect for clients."
Mike Leibowitz, CEO of Tradition UK, is also optimistic about the venture: "Tradition has an excellent reputation in many derivatives markets. Dry freight broking is a natural progression from our leading position in the Energy markets and RS Platou is the ideal partner for us."
"We are pleased to be launching this joint venture and look forward to working with Tradition brokers in the fast-developing Dry FFA market," says Wilhelm L. Holst, RS Platou's Chief Operating Officer and Senior Partner. The joint venture will be named Tradition-Platou, and is expected to start trading this summer.
Media Contacts
Regina Malzburg
Tel: +44 20 7422 3998
regina.malzburg@tradition.co.uk
Michael Anderson
Tel: +44 20 7198 1567
manderson@tradition.co.uk
Tim Williamson/James Clasper
Brunswick Group
Tel: +44 20 7404 5959
tradition@brunswickgroup.com
About Tradition
Tradition is one of the world’s largest interdealer brokers in over-the-counter financial and commodity related products.
Tradition is represented in 24 countries and has approximately 3,000 institutional clients. It employs 2,200 people globally, 680 of whom are based in London.
Tradition is owned by Compagnie Financière Tradition (CFT), listed on the Swiss stock exchange). www.tradition.com
About RS Platou
RS Platou is a leading international ship- and offshore broking company established in 1936. Headquartered in Oslo, RS Platou is also present in Singapore, Houston, Moscow, Lagos, Copenhagen, Shanghai, Istanbul and Geneva.