|
Commodities
Our operations are principally for our own account. To a lesser extent, we also act as an agent
for clients. We conduct our trading primarily through our subsidiaries based in Vienna, Austria.
These activities allow us to be in contact with a wide geographic range of producers as well as
consumers, potentially creating more opportunities than the simple merchandising of goods.
Our trading activities often utilize innovative trading strategies and structures. We currently
trade with commodity and other producers who are unable to execute sales effectively because
of credit or currency issues affecting them or their principal customers. Generally, we purchase
the underlying commodity and resell it to an end buyer. Our relative financial strength enables
us to arrange credit including letters of credit. As a consequence, we are often able to facilitate
purchases and sales of commodities with more efficient and effective execution than many
producers and customers could achieve on their own. Commodity producers and end customers
often work with us to better manage their internal supply, distribution risk, and currency and
capital requirements.
|
