Putin finally broke his silence last month: I assure you, I know that a lot is being written about it, without any participation on my part. Welcome to the Mercuria 2022 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report. Mercuria specializes in trading and supplying physical commodities, investing in strategic assets, providing financing and logistics services and offering solutions to help clients meet their needs, including their net zero goals. (Bloomberg) In less than a decade, Marco Dunand and Daniel Jaeggi have turned a 10-person company supplying oil to a pair of Polish refineries into the worlds fourth-largest commodity trader with revenue topping $100 billion last year. Crude prices up 2% on rising U.S. oil demand and lower output, Gold firms in face of economic and banking uncertainty, Marex Solutions selects MDX Technology Workflow for rapid, low-code application development, CarbonChain integrates with Quors Fintrade CTRM for seamless trade lifecycle carbon tracking, Exporting against the odds: Ukrainian efforts to support exporters, Appalachian E&Ps see opportunities for savings later this year, Diversifying Into Renewable Energy: Challenges And Opportunities, 2023 Market Sizing, Outlook, and Trends Through 2027, Thoughts on Gen10 An Interview with George Bradshaw, A New Vendor is Born An Interview with Tasja Botha Chief Executive Officer Quor, Tradesparent Rebrands to RadarRadar and Hones Its mission, Click to access the login or register cheese. [15] The company tells Bloomberg half of its portfolio will be in renewables in the next five years, and has already committed to invest over $2 billion into the energy transition.[15]. S&P Global Platts talks to Mercuria CEO and co-founder Marco Dunand about the challenges, implications, and opportunities that the COVID-19 pandemic presents across all the key commodity classes in a time of unprecedented volatility in the global markets. We went to the Ivory Coast on a mission to help the people of Abidjan, and to find ourselves arrested and in jail as a result has been a terrible ordeal for ourselves and our families, said Dauphin. Many amass speculative positions worth billions in raw goods, or hoard commodities in warehouses and super-tankers during periods of tight supply. In April Noble appointed Li Rongrong, former chairman of the state-owned assets supervision and administration commission of China, as a non-executive director. That took the headcount to 1,200 from about 10 in 2004. It has also dipped a toe in the upstream business. We have a system that monitors the supply and demand needs, because often times they are working independently. Mercuria Energy Group, Ltd. Mercuria is a Geneva, Switzerland-based trading firm focused on energy products and dry bulk commodities. His partners seized control of the firm in 1994, renaming it Glencore. [4] The group operates in 50 different countries. [1] The firm was founded in 2004 by two former Wall Street oil traders, Marco Dunand and Daniel Jaeggi. Elman, the companys chairman, holds around 30 percent of the company. The hires include Houston-based Shameek Konar, a former managing director with Goldman Sachs (GS) Group Inc. who is chief investment officer overseeing Mercurias corporate development, including the JPMorgan negotiations. Analytical and operational solutions to navigate complex, volatile markets. They are part of the food chain, yet help shape it, and the personal rewards can be huge. ADM was fined $100 million by the U.S. government for antitrust violations. It puts them in a tremendous position.. Around two decades ago, Kuok Khoon Hong decided to leave the business empire of his billionaire uncle Robert Kuok to set up an edible oil business with a big bet: China. With their connections and inside knowledge -- commodities markets are mostly free of insider-trading restrictions -- trading houses have become power brokers, especially in fast-developing Asia, Latin America and Africa. Or this: Glencore in 2010 controlled 55 percent of the worlds traded zinc market, and 36 percent of that for copper. Their move to run their own empire came in 2004 when they founded Mercuria, raising capital from two Polish businessmen, Grzegorz Jankielewicz and Slawomir Smolokowski. With more trading companies trying to gain an edge by owning businesses that produce, store or process commodities, Mercuria followed suit. In the early 2000s, the Brent crude oil stream -- used as a global price benchmark -- fell to 400,000 barrels per day from more than 1 million in the late 1980s. The Koch brothers, Chairman and CEO Charles and co-owner David Koch, are high-profile supporters of libertarian and anti-regulation U.S. politics. The $5-billion refinery would pit Hin Leong against refineries already operated in Singapore by oil majors Shell, ExxonMobil and a joint venture between Chevron and Chinas PetroChina. GENEVA, 3 October 2014 -- Mercuria Energy Group, Ltd ("Mercuria") announced today it has successfully completed the acquisition of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. ("J.P. Morgan") Physical Commodities Business, following the signing of a definitive Purchase and Sale Agreement in March of 2014. [11], Its subsidiaries include Navitas Energy in Canada[12] and Vesta Terminal Services in Europe,[13] which operates port logistics, storage and processing facilities in the Netherlands, Estonia, Belgium, and Germany. The incident was the subject of The Informant, filmed on site in Decatur. Design by Andrew Colby. In March 2014, the firm purchased JP Morgan 's physical commodities unit for $3.5 billion. Premium access for businesses and educational institutions. In two decades the Bangalore-born trader has built Olam into a $4.5 billion company involved in around 20 different commodities including coffee, cocoa, rice, grains and sugar, from a startup that sold Nigerian cashew nuts. J+S denied any wrong-doing and suggested the investigation was politically motivated. Publications A collection of deliverables from ComTech Advisory including Research reports, White Papers, Analyst Notes and other informative articles all available for free download. Global Advisors Newton said Dunand and Jaeggis ability to react to shifting markets means Mercuria will probably thrive in an unpredictable industry littered with failures. Compared with other independent trading houses, Dunand and Jaeggi are high profile, speaking periodically to the press and giving regular interviews. Mercuria Mercuria Energy Group Ltd is a Cypriot-domiciled French [1] multinational commodity trading company active in a wide spectrum of global energy markets including crude oil and refined petroleum products, natural gas (including LNG), power, biodiesel, base metals [2] and agricultural products. I have known the citizen Timchenko for a very long time, since my work in St Petersburg, Putin told a group of Russian writers. And his silence helped feed rumors about Gunvors remarkable growth. That gives its traders the advantage of timely market intelligence. Former Koch employees were implicated in improper payments to secure contracts in six foreign countries between 2002 and 2008, and the companys officers admitted in a letter made public by a French court last year that those activities constitute violations of criminal law, according to a report in Bloomberg Markets Magazine this month. During your trial you will have complete digital access to FT.com with everything in both of our Standard Digital and Premium Digital packages. Marco Dunand is Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Mercuria Energy Group, one of the world's largest independent energy and commodities companies operating in more than 50 countries along the entire commodities value chain with a balanced combination of commodity flows and strategic assets. The jury is still out among rival traders on whether he made or lost a fortune that summer, a debate Lim is unlikely to settle publicly. A Trafigura-chartered tanker was intercepted in the Caribbean in 2001 on suspicion of carrying illegal volumes of Iraqi crude. They have grown at a very fast pace in the oil markets, and now they are expanding into other commodities.. It focused initially on shipping fuel oil cargoes to the mainland, a relationship that has since deepened. If you dont offer competitive terms, no one will work with you, he told a Russian daily this month. Their combined stakes fluctuate at around 40%. Premium Digital includes access to our premier business column, Lex, as well as 15 curated newsletters covering key business themes with original, in-depth reporting. We use A wealthier world needs more food. It also said its foreign units had ended sales to Iran years ago, and did not violate U.S. law by conducting business with Iran earlier. Enuit Hiring, Growing, and Focused on Next Version, Energy One Sees Early Success in 24 by 7 Services Market. As it turns the pumps back on, Libyan oil firm Agoco has allocated Vitol half of its crude production to repay debts. Marco Dunand and Daniel Jaeggi, both Swiss, have worked together closely for more than 25 years in a string of commodities companies, buying and selling crude and oil products in many of the hottest oil trading outfits: Cargill, Goldman Sachs J.Aron, Salomon Brothers Phibro and Sempra. organisation The material was dumped in open-air sites around Abidjan in August 2006 after being unloaded from a Trafigura-chartered tanker. university It is true that I, together with three other businessmen, sponsored a judo club where Mr Putin became honorary president, he wrote. I never interfered with anything related to his business interests, I hope he will not stick his nose into my business either, Putin said. Founded in 2004 by Swiss traders Marco Dunand and Daniel Jaeggi. Check if your 13 in the Fortune 500 list of publicly held companies, just behind Wall Street banking giant Citigroup. To contact the reporters on this story: Andy Hoffman in Geneva at ahoffman31@bloomberg.net; Chanyaporn Chanjaroen in Singapore at cchanjaroen@bloomberg.net, To contact the editors responsible for this story: Will Kennedy at wkennedy3@bloomberg.net Amanda Jordan The company lists its trade in paper derivatives as larger still, or about 10 million barrels a day. [8][9] They and their affiliates joined as founders of Mercuria, and they remain as shareholders today. [25][26][27][28], In 2020, Mercuria had its best year ever, earning $786 million with revenues in line with commodity prices to about $85 billion. Without a commanding position in any region or commodity, the firm has sought out bottlenecks and imbalances in niche markets and positioned itself to make money trading derivatives using insights gained from its physical trading. Louis Dreyfus is a well-honed global operator, marketing agricultural commodities from wheat to orange juice. But by the end of April, a U.S. Treasury directive authorized the Vitol transactions. In London, Trafigura reached a pre-trial settlement to put an end to a class-action suit from some 31,000 residents. Of the six major metals warehousers only one, Dutch-based C.Steinweg, remains independent. When in Wichita, he often dines in the Koch cafeteria. In June, it invested $50 million in a Romanian gas producer. Some analysts point to risk factors: Olams exposure to natural disasters, such as recent flooding in Australia, and social or political unrest such as that in Ivory Coast. Founded 25 years ago by Briton Richard Elman, the Hong Kong-based, Singapore-listed Noble Group buys and sells everything from Brazilian sugar to Australian coal. Dunand and Jaeggi are Mercurias largest shareholders but an employee share ownership scheme holds around 40 percent of the company. The scandal has hardly hampered the firms stellar growth. The three top executives at Mercuria have increased their holding in the Swiss-based commodity trader since the start of the year, according to a filing with US regulators. If you do nothing, you will be auto-enrolled in our premium digital monthly subscription plan and retain complete access for 65 per month. A deal with JPMorgan would further challenge Dunand and Jaeggi, who each own 15 percent of Mercurias equity, to integrate the operations into a company that is already growing rapidly. Trading houses saw the opportunity to leverage metals warehousing after the 2008 financial crisis. In 2006 Kuok, now 62, orchestrated a $4.3 billion merger which consolidated his uncles palm oil assets into Wilmar, making it the worlds largest listed palm oil firm. Executives of Illinois-based ADM, formerly Archer Daniels Midland, were jailed for an early 1990s international price-fixing conspiracy for animal feed additive lysine. He talked about how we are moving into action and investing in. They are better together than they are on their own. But Cargill is anything but public. Wall Street heavyweight JP Morgan is advising Noble on the planned listing. These days, Olam has upstream operations in everything from a coffee plantation in Laos to a rice business in Thailand, from almonds in Australia to cashews in Africa. The award-winning provider of Commodity Management solutions worldwide. Its one of the largest physical suppliers of metals including zinc, lead and nickel, and a leading grain exporter from Europe, the former Soviet Union and Australia. Arcadias chief executive in Singapore, Stephen Gibbons, denied the contents of the cable and told Reuters the kidnapping allegations were ludicrous. Noble is now seeking to spin off its agriculture business with a listing on the Singapore Exchange. The CEO sometimes flies to speaking engagements with no entourage. [31] In November 2022, it was announced Beyond6 has been acquired by the Chevron Corporation subsidiary, Chevron USA Inc.[32], Review of International Political Economy, "China slowdown spells end of big payday for iron ore traders", "RPT-Oil traders diversify into food and metals in quest for profits", "Citi sells Phibro after government pressure", "Oil Trader Mercuria's Ownership Structure Revealed in Filing", "Top three executives lift stake in Mercuria", "Polskie obywatelstwo i fortuna zbita na ropie", "Oil and Gas, PetroLama Energy Canada Inc. Calgary, AB Home", "Prior notification of a concentration (Case COMP/M.6807 Mercuria Energy Asset Management/Sinomart KTS Development/Vesta Terminals): (Text with EEA relevance)", "Oil traders say banks are demanding green targets for loans", "Louis Dreyfus metal traders, investment managers will join Mercuria Energy", "Mercuria Energy Group Ltd buys MGM International from Morgan Stanley - CEOWORLD magazine", "J.P. Morgan Completes Sale of Some Commodities Operations to Mercuria", "JPMorgan sells physical commodities unit to Mercuria for $3.5 billion", "ChemChina Acquires 12% Stake in Swiss Commodity Trader Mercuria", "Restructured Aegean Marine Becomes Minerva Bunkering", "Energy trader Mercuria gets green light to buy Aegean Marine Petroleum", "Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. Reorganizes as Minerva Bunkering", "Energy trader Mercuria posts record profit for volatile 2020", "Trader Buys $36 Million of Copper and Gets Painted Rocks Instead", "Mercuria Buys Clean Energy Specialist Beyond6", "Chevron to acquire full ownership of Beyond6 CNG Fuelling Network", "Mercuria Commodities Canada Corp. - Relationship Science", "Mercuria Grows its Global Metals Trading Business", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mercuria&oldid=1146888302, This page was last edited on 27 March 2023, at 15:24. The company did not comment publicly on this incident. In May, Argentina kicked Bunge off the countrys exporters register after the government alleged it had evaded $300 million in taxes, an accusation the company denies. For a full comparison of Standard and Premium Digital, click here. Overall Arcadia profited by $50 million in derivatives markets as oil futures spreads collapsed, according to the suit. With Kochs easy access to tankers and pipelines, the strategy locked in profits of up to $10 a barrel with virtually no risk, traders said. When out-of-town employees visit, he has taken them to dinner at seafood chain Red Lobster, a former Koch employee said. Lims Chinese connections have played a big part in the companys success. (Additional reporting by Jean-Francois Rosnoblet), WHO: Bunge, founded 1818 by Johann Peter Gottlieb Bunge in Amsterdam. cookies It buys and sells multiple crops, mills and grinds and processes them into scores of products, both edible and not, and ships them to markets around the world. If you have any issue with this post please contact us, News > Commodity Trading > Behind the $100 Billion Commodity Empire That Few Know, CTRM Center "We expect demand to be a bit over 100 million barrels per day (bpd) at year end, which is a little bit short of pre-COVID levels . There were two schools for the commodity trade: the Marc Rich school with Glencore and Trafigura, which is obviously successful, then theres the investment bank school, which has more of a risk approach.. Noble quit its global liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) operations in 2010, a year it was censured in Nigeria for discrepancies in gasoline shipping lists. Commodity trading is fraught with various types of risk. Trading houses competed with banks for the spoils -- Glencore, Trafigura and Noble took one warehousing company each, Goldman and JP Morgan the others. In his only media interview, with Reuters in 2006, Lim credited his success to investment in his tanker armada -- the secret weapon that helped him set up stealthy and profitable deals in the 1990s -- and his philosophy of perseverance. Mercuria also differs in tone. All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. But they have seen interest from potential investors, and have considered a tie-up with a sovereign wealth fund.