Batsho Nthoi

Expertise

Batsho is a banking and finance lawyer specialising in asset-based lending, trade, commodities, and export finance, as well as general corporate lending. His expertise extends to advising on integrating trade finance with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, and the digitisation of trade.

His legal career began in Botswana, achieving Partner status as an Attorney with a broad portfolio in corporate transactions and litigation. Before joining AG, Batsho held various roles at Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) in Botswana, South Africa, and the UK, including Business Planning Manager to the Group General Counsel (Chief of Staff) and Senior Legal Counsel, Global Banking. His advisory scope at SCB covered trade and commodities finance, trade finance platforms, cash management and treasury services, global custodian services, and corporate lending transactions, providing him with a profound insight into trade finance products.

At AG, Batsho offers his expertise to a diverse client base, including banks, funds, platform providers, and corporate entities. He also applies his in-depth knowledge internally, working alongside corporate, real estate, pensions, and restructuring teams for transactions involving trade finance instruments. He is at the forefront, leading training sessions on trade finance products, ESG considerations in trade finance, and the digitisation of trade, sharing expertise with peers and clients.

Batsho is qualified to practice law in both England & Wales and Botswana. His current work spans a wide range of areas, including:

The use of trade finance instruments and ICC rules, such as bills of exchange, promissory notes, bonds and guarantees, standby letters of credit, documentary letters of credit, and documentary collections.
Trade finance and asset-based lending working capital solutions, including pre-export/pre-shipment finance, receivables purchase facilities, payables finance, supply chain finance, borrowing base financing, inventory financing and structured trade and commodity finance.
Approaches to trade risk distribution and mitigation, such as sub-participation structures, risk sharing facilities, export credit agency financing, credit insurance-backed structures, financial institution trade loans and advances, and trade finance syndications.
Addressing emerging trends, especially the integration of ESG considerations into trade finance and the digitalisation of trade finance transactions

Experience

Deal experience include:

Acting as borrower counsel to an asset based lending financier on a £45million refinancing facility in relation to a back to back receivables facility with inventory facility and plant and machinery facility limits;

Advising a UK merchant bank to negotiate and close a £35million receivables discounting facility to a borrower;

Acting as English counsel to a US corporate borrower on a US$400million facility (with sustainability linked loan element) to refinance existing loan finance and notes and for general corporate expenditure;

Advising and drafting an Advance Payment Agreement for a major British sugar producer with UK farmers /growers to facilitate the cultivation and growing of sugar beets;

Syndication review for and advising a lender on aspects of a syndicated borrowing base facility;

Advising and negotiating for various banks: master LC issuance agreements, master LC confirmation and discounting agreement, master forfaiting agreement, Bank guarantee and Standby LC agreements, master FI trade loan agreement and trade finance platform agreements;

Advising an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) on a risk sharing agreement with World Bank /IFC to support eligible OEM Health Care SME Facilities in seven (7) African countries;

Providing trade finance transaction advise to a global clearing bank's sub-participation to a USD350million supply chain finance, involving the drawing, electronic acceptance and discounting of bills of exchange between two major U.S. listed corporates and potential future participation to a USD8billion basket of receivables;

Acting for Santander UK Plc and UK Export Finance (UKEF) in respect of a £16.5 million export finance growth funding to DEA Aviation Limited (DEA), a specialist in aerial data acquisition services to the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, search & rescue and aerial mapping sector; and

negotiating various standalone export credit guarantees and umbrella credit insurance policies to cover receivables purchase and supply chain programs.

Education

MA Politics and International Relations - University of Botswana 2013
LLM International Financial Law - King's College London 2010 (Chevening Scholar)
Bachelor of Laws - University of Botswana 2005

Languages