Deacons wins 2008 Best Trade Law Firm in Asia award 15 July 2008 Deacons received the 2008 Best Trade Law Firm in Asia award at Trade Finance magazine's Annual Awards for Excellence ceremony in Hong Kong on 3 July 2008. The award recognises the firm's extensive work on a variety of structured trade and commodity financing transactions over the last year, with the majority of the deals involving China, India, Central Asia, Indonesia and Australia. Deacons' trade finance team acts for banks, traders, exporters, developers and other market players and has considerable experience in a vast variety of soft and hard commodities. The firm's strong team of international trade and export financing specialists has expanded in line with the global demand for commodities. "Having offices in the main business centres in Greater China, South East Asia and Australia has allowed us to capitalise on the growing commodity trade and resource trade markets in the Asia Pacific region," says Philip Gilligan, a partner in Deacons' Hong Kong office , "and the firm's ability to structure, negotiate and document transactions reaches beyond East Asia to India, Central Asia and South and Central America." During 2007 and into 2008, through its Hong Kong, Singapore and Australian offices the Deacons partners say that they have seen significant trade and commodities activity, with thermal coal, met coke and iron ore transaction taking precedence. According to Dan Marjanovic, a partner in Deacons' Sydney office,clients have included major global and regional trading companies, commodity producers, international lenders, investors and collateral managers on transactions ranging from complex and novel structures for carbon trading and export backed "true sale" receivables financings to more common pre-finance and advance payment structures. Rahed Idrees, a partner in Deacons' Singapore office, says "While demand for regional commodities shows little signs of easing, the tightening of the global credit markets may further unlock the benefits that structured trade and commodity financing techniques may offer to supplement working capital requirements. With our network of offices and affiliates in China, Hong Kong, Australia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Taiwan we are well placed to support our clients regionally."