Melvin Foo

Working in IVICT Singapore, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation

• Senior Trading Executive handling sales of Polypropylene (Homo and Copolymers) and various synthetic rubbers(Butadiene rubbers) to South East Asia/Indian Subcontinent/Western Europe/East African/Latin American regions

• Liaise with various indent agents/direct end users/overseas Mitsubishi offices to acquire deals , working across different time zones to service clients and capture best prices for suppliers

• Negotiating with Japanese Rubber producers for Half Year/Full year contract pricing and volumes to customers based on commodities indexes such as ICIS

• Quarterly visits to Saudi Arabia (Polypropylene Supplier) to present market information and quarterly sales plan along with analysis of price trends considering various factors such as tariffs, global production capacities and supply demand balance

• Travels frequently for meetings with other traders based in different parts of the world to understand supply demand balance and local market conditions, explore various ways to penetrate different markets such as Europe to discuss open credit deals and specialized warehousing to efficiently serve the market

• Experienced in logistics management (Containerized shipments and various incoterms) and payment (Letter of Credit, Open Credit, Partial TTR)

• Assessing potential credit risks of customers and proper management of existing credit lines

• Negotiate business contracts, manage payment schedules, and enforce contract compliance

• Collaborate with risk management team to uphold risk management and align trades with IVICT Singapore's business strategy which is important in the increasingly competitive commodities space

As a management trainee in Ravago, I was attached to Acumen Engineering and exposed to the rubber and commodity plastics business.

Rubber business:

Involved in hedging in rubber futures for the company (TSR20 grade) in order to secure profit margins and mitigate potential losses in times of price fluctuations that are not in our favor.

Commodity plastics business:

Trained in multiple aspects, mainly technical product knowledge through the use of various platforms like ICIS and ULProspector.

Key learning points from exposure to the businesses:

• Pricing: I studied and analysed past prices and offers to determine if there was a trend in seasonal demand. Understanding the dynamics of feedstock prices gave me valuable insights as well.

• Sales: Executed cold calls and drafted email offers to potential clients by introducing them to our product line and highlighting the key specifications.

• Logistics: I had access to freight rates between various important sea ports which opened up the possibility of arbitrage trading and allowed me a better understanding of the impacts of freight on the business.

• Trade compliance: Gathered relevant trade compliance knowledge such as Free Trade Agreements between different countries and an understanding of compliance policies such as 'Fair valuation of goods' in order to avoid discrepancies in terms of tariffs and taxes.