QUESTION  Dear Mr. Old Man, I hope this message finds you well. Please forgive my intrusion but having seen your highly professional explanations on letters of credit, I would like to consult you on a professional matter. I am a trader from China, and as I am still in the initial stages of my business, I have some confusion regarding …

In the world of trade finance, bank guarantees (BGs) can sometimes look like magic shields — protecting one party’s interests when the other doesn’t deliver. But when it comes to transferring those guarantees or getting paid under tricky conditions, things get murky fast. This week, a trader writes in about a “transferable” BG and a payment condition tied to a …

QUESTION Dear Sir, Hope everything is in good spirits. I wanted your valuable feedback on this scenario of calculation of the maturity date. Now, let say we have received the bill of USD 100,000.00 with multiple truck receipts with dates ranging from 01.06.2025 to 20.06.2025.  The usance period is 60 days from  the T/R date. Currently the due date for the …

Cầu Nguyễn Văn Trỗi — trước năm 1975 có tên là cầu Nguyễn Hoàng — được xây dựng vào năm 1965 bởi nhà thầu Mỹ RMK. Cây cầu dài 513,8 mét, bắc qua sông Hàn với 14 nhịp dàn thép kiểu pony truss. Mặt cầu rộng 10,5 mét, trong đó lòng đường rộng 8,5 mét. Đây là cây cầu đường …

Nguyen Van Troi Bridge — originally named Nguyen Hoang Bridge before 1975 — was built in 1965 by the American contractor RMK. Spanning 513.8 meters across the Han River with 14 steel pony truss spans, the bridge measures 10.5 meters wide, including an 8.5-meter roadbed. This was the first road bridge across the Han River, constructed by the U.S. to …

 QUESTION  Dear Mr. Old Man, We presented documents under an LC that were in full compliance, but the issuing bank still raised one or two discrepancies and deducted a discrepancy fee from the proceeds. We dispute the discrepancies and have asked the issuing bank to refund the fee that was wrongly deducted. However, the bank either insists the discrepancies are …

At 2:47 in the morning (when only owls, over-caffeinated bankers, and insomniac old men are awake), I received this beautiful email from a young reader who just passed the CDCS exam—with an impressive score of 90 out of 100. She wasn’t my student in the traditional sense, but in her words, she still considers me her teacher. That alone feels …

Sáng nay đạp xe ra phố, ghé quán cà phê quen thuộc gọi một ly đen đá không đường thiệt bự. Ngồi một mình, vừa nhậm nhi cà phê vừa lướt facebook, chợt bắt gặp tấm ảnh cũ hồi còn rong ruỗi khám phá những cung đường núi khó nhằn. Nhìn lại tấm ảnh đạp xe trên đồi chè Đông …

Two nights ago, just before midnight, a friend of mine—an in-house lawyer at a Korean bank (let’s call it Bank K)—sent me an email asking if I could recommend a Vietnamese lawyer to assist one of his clients. The client had fallen victim to a scam involving a fund transfer to a beneficiary account at a Vietnamese bank (let’s call …

 QUESTION Dear Sir, Greetings from Himalayan Bank!!! I am here to ask for your valuable suggestion on below. Bill of Lading mentions Shipper as Third party acting on behalf of the Beneficiary but there is no provision for third party in the credit. Does this mean the third party is an authorized agent acting for the beneficiary? Can this be …