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Macquarie’s quadruple award win highlights its diverse offering and commitment to clients
At the Energy Risk Asia Awards 2022, Macquarie brought home four wins – a testament to the diversity of the high-quality solutions and services it offers its clients
To win four times at a single industry awards event is an achievement. To return the following year and do it again is even more impressive. But, for Macquarie – the first to accomplish this at the Energy Risk Asia Awards – what lies at the heart of this success is the dedication of the Commodities and Global Markets (CGM) team. Daniel Vizel, global head of agriculture and oil, and head of CGM Asia at Macquarie, discusses what this year’s award wins mean to his team and what Macquarie’s overall role is in supporting its clients across commodities markets with their decarbonisation pathways, and with an increasing focus on the energy transition.
Macquarie’s commitment to the commodities market for over 40 years sets it apart from others in the space. Having been in the commodities business for more than 20 years himself, Vizel notes that Macquarie’s “market presence continues to grow and expand, even during challenging times as we remain committed to supporting clients’ needs”.
Vizel also explains how some of the larger financial institutions tend to have quite fixed or rigid approaches to executing clients’ solutions. He says that, in contrast: “Macquarie offers flexibility and innovation. We try to create the best solution for the client that gives them the results they need and helps to mitigate risk.”
These approaches were exemplified in the Derivatives house of the year category, in which Macquarie noted that, at a time when competitors were reducing their offerings, the group strengthened its presence globally and expanded across several key markets in Asia‑Pacific, investing in its platforms and capabilities. The award recognised the growth of Macquarie’s physical and financial product offerings in Japanese electricity, becoming the only global financial institution to do so. Its development of capabilities within the China-certified emission reduction scheme and entry to the Japan Climate Leaders’ Partnership further strengthen Macquarie’s commitment to climate initiatives and out-of-the-box solutions for its customers.
The Commodity trade finance house of the year category reflected Macquarie’s commodities financing team’s focus on providing clients with bespoke working capital and trade solutions across a wide spectrum of commodities and throughout the entire supply chain. For example, the team arranged and executed the world’s first shipment of carbon-offset crude oil, meaning the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the entire crude lifecycle were offset. Another deal the team worked on was providing a working capital facility to support the continued development and ramp-up of a client’s battery chemicals plant, and production of battery-grade nickel and cobalt sulphate to support the rising demand for electric vehicle production.
Vizel notes that the group supports the energy transition by working not only with new technology clients, but also with traditional clients such as oil companies looking for ways to transition, and supporting them through that transition. One of Macquarie’s focuses is helping clients in traditional agriculture and oil transition to clean fuel. Having recently combined its agriculture and oil businesses, Vizel notes that Macquarie is also seeing traditional agriculture clients trade more energy products, and traditional energy clients trading more agriculture products. In sharing its expertise across both markets, Vizel notes that the Macquarie franchise can effectively service both sides of this divide.
Macquarie’s oil and products team continued to deliver high-quality solutions to clients over the past 12 months, reflected in its win in the Oil and products house of the year category. Macquarie’s activity in the physical financing and structured financing space in oil and oil products provides a unique product offering to its customers. Its staff of experienced physical traders and operators, coupled with the expertise of its originators, means Macquarie’s product offering is considered market-leading.
Vizel addressed some of CGM’s key goals for the coming years, including expanding its product suite, such as adding new types of petrochemicals into its risk management solutions, and expanding its client base across new regions. As a client-focused business, Vizel notes the importance of being positioned in front of clients in person. Though this was certainly difficult throughout the Covid‑19 pandemic, Macquarie is focused again on getting together in-person with its clients and with potential clients.
With regard to the energy transition, Macquarie has several different initiatives in play, most notably the carbon trading business that generates carbon credits and offsets. These can be used to support Macquarie’s clients, who may be looking for either voluntary or mandated purchase of carbon credits for their businesses. The team’s leadership in supporting the global and regional carbon emissions markets and energy transition overall is best demonstrated in its win in the Emissions house of the year category. This award recognises Macquarie’s market-leading coverage of emissions markets, which covers the provision of hedging and risk management products, structured products, and debt and equity capital in a variety of compliance and voluntary carbon markets globally.
Throughout this, Macquarie’s CGM team can facilitate key trade and other transactions to assist clients who are focused on the energy transition and decarbonisation, with Vizel noting the significant role carbon offsets can play in the global energy transition. While direct emission reduction is the ultimate goal, it will take time for certain industries to transition, and supporting them while they decarbonise is essential. As a result, corporates are turning to offsets to mitigate some of their emissions and help them deliver on their climate commitments in a more immediate fashion.
As part of this award submission, Macquarie provided an example from South-east Asia, where it has worked with clients in developing carbon offsetting solutions as outlined in its sustainability goals. By drawing on Macquarie’s market access and capabilities, it was able to source a wide range of offset options that met a client’s requirements and then deliver those offsets on a spot or forward basis. This type of work allows Macquarie to prioritise its decarbonisation efforts with its clients and partners working in high-emissions sectors, while strengthening its own role in the greater energy transition by being at the forefront of global and regional carbon emissions markets.
Reflecting on the four awards received by Macquarie this year, Vizel believes they “demonstrate that we’re doing the right thing and providing the best solutions possible to our clients. It is a testament to the expertise within the teams.” The broad diversity of awards reflects the diversity of Macquarie’s platform. Vizel notes that Macquarie strives to offer comprehensive support, and plans to continue to expand and offer solutions – whether physical or financial, simple or complex – that are best suited to its clients’ needs. Across all of these solutions is Macquarie, which is committed to its role in the global energy transition and in delivering practical climate solutions to support clients with their own energy transition journeys.
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