Tips on Using Letters of Credit

International letters of credit play an integral part in facilitating foreign trade while providing a secure and reliable means of payment. In simple terms, a letter of credit is a financial guarantee of payment separate from the sales or other contracts on which it is based. It is a way of reducing the payment risks associated with the movement of goods across borders.

When PMF Bancorp provides trade financing, letters of credit come with the territory. With the letters of credit, we also make sure your clients are reliable and creditworthy. Naturally, letters of credit and credit checks go hand-in-hand. The goal is to provide the financing you need to complete the deal and help your business.

The need for a letter of credit is a consideration in the course of negotiations between the buyer and seller. When the seller has doubts about the credit-worthiness of the buyer and wishes to ensure prompt payment, a letter of credit allows the deal to happen. If the seller is shipping to a foreign country, a letter of credit issued by a financing institution can ensure the safety of the goods and the completion of the exchange.

Letters of credit open doors to international trade by providing a secure mechanism for payment. Financing opportunities, such as pre-shipment finance secured by a letter of credit and/or discounting of accepted drafts drawn under letters of credit, are often available. The expertise of a company like PMF Bancorp with extensive international expertise and experience in financing global trade makes this type of transaction simple for the typical business owner.

If you are moving forward with an international trade deal, PMF Bancorp has many years of experience in issuing letters of credit for businesses to securely finance their trade needs. By obtaining international letters of credit and doing a background check on your trade partner, PMF helps to ensure both the deal and the accounts receivable financing needs as well. With an international letter of credit, what appeared at first to be a risky venture can turn out to be a profitable expansion for your company.

US Jobs & Unemployment figures a Sham...Where are the jobs?

It’s funny how the media only shows you one face of the coin when their our political motivations involved...here is part of 'the Sham': July '2012 Job's Report was up 163,000 according to the Labor Department from the Obama administration; however, the Household Survey reported 150,000 people dropped out of the job market?!  According to Ellen Zenter, Senior US Economist at Nomura, "This (latest jobs report) showing the economy expanded at a greater pace in July than in June, but households are still telling us they're in pain."

The 'Sham' is much worse than this, one can see our youth under-employed in many areas of the economy so our government reported 8.3% Unemployment figure is probably more like 12% if the under-employed, job market quitters, and structurally unemployed were added to the actual reported unemployment figures.  I was eating dinner at a diner called "Norms" just last night in Southern California and overheard to youths strategizing on getting a waiter position at the restaurant...it sounded from their conversation like we were in the 'great depression' (which just might be...we are just in denial still based on fundamentals).  Not that I am really pro Romney, but over the last four years Obama should have been busy creating sustainable jobs (not road jobs) to improve our infrastructure such as our failing electrical grid and aging aqueduct systems which could have led to a whole new generation of engineers and jobs for our economy....  Creating jobs take experience and work, ChinaMart USA is a platform that been attracting investment to the US and creating US jobs for years.  I explain more in my book, "Book: Dancing with the Dragon" on working with China to help our economy if this is an interest to any of my readers.

Stephen Perl, CEO of 1st PMF Bancorp, a leading U.S. commercial lender specializing in providing loans to business for working capital and trade finance.

The Truth on the US-China Economic Relationship....

I have just read  Mr. Stephen Roach, Academic CEO of Morgan Stanley and it hits a home-run in bringing the quintessential issues of US-China relations to the table.  It removes the economic smoke that our government has painted for election purposes and logically drives home the overwhelming need to focus on the market opportunities that exist in China for the US. With China being the US’s third largest export market with  US exports to China up 53% since 2007, I think your point is made well on the importance “access to the China market”;  however, on the same note, my book that I published in February of this year, “Doing Business with China: Dancing withthe Dragon” focuses on the next logical issue…”How to Access the Chinese Market”.  One of my chapters, “Creating Your Own Access to China” tells owners how to do this, but stresses that our real opportunities in China cannot be achieved unless our Federal and local government start working closely with business to create real long-term strategies to support this effort.   It’s funny…after all my years of doing business with China, I see the Chinese government putting in these supportive functions in their government to assist their businesses to expand to the US (and other markets!) and their efforts have really worked…why are we not doing this too in the US? (I see small glimmers of this but no real strategy). 

If Washington could just stop running for the next election and pandering to every special interest group, and start being proactive and focusing on implementing long term strategies instead of being so reactive...then we could drive a whole new export market to create jobs and opportunities for the US… my book goes into great detail on this matter as well.  This article should be placed in the Wall Street Journal for free… as it could serve as a real public service announcement to wake our country up…Great article.  

Article: America's renminbi fixation, by Stephen Roach, Academic CEO of Morgan Stanley Asia

“The Hunger Games” was banned in China...Why not in the USA too?

I went to see the movie, “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins this weekend and was shocked. I knew it had been banned in China, but did not think too much about it; however, after I saw the movie, I came away thinking, “How could so many people ($152 million in the first Weekend box office) want to watch such gratuitous physical and psychological violence”. I then actually became scared when I learned that the book version won the California Young Reader’s Medal Award which is voted by our children in California as their favorite book of the year for 2011.

It became more clear when I learned that Ms. Collins was inspired to write this book from a combination of the Iraqi War and US Reality TV shows. Is this what are children should gravitate towards?

Now it’s clear to me why the Chinese said “No” to this movie…the Chinese have been working very hard in the last ten year to re-instill civilized way of life back into the mainstream public in China. It was not long ago that China suffered from lack of food and violence like this movie. Now, with new found stability and economic prosperity, the Chinese government realizes that many of its citizens have forgotten to be courteous to others and other basic civilities. Therefore, now one literally sees many signs to be polite, messages played in public places like elevators not to push, etc…. One also sees many statues of Confucius being placed in cities all over China to reinforce moral conduct. It is obvious that the Chinese are trying to raise the quality of life in China (not only the economy). I discuss many of these cultural points of change in my book on Doing Business with China as well.

It is no surprise that this novel has also been very controversial in the US; it ranked in fifth place on the American Library Association's list of frequently challenged books for 2010, the reasons being it was unsuited to the age group, and violent.”

This is definitely a case where we should take China’s lead and not allow our youth to be exposed to such violence so that we desensitize their emotions to such tragedy, even if the story might have a twisted ending that has some glimmer of hope.

Growth in Free Trade and Jobs Go Side-by-Side… Why are we in Danger as a Country?

As a country we need to recognize that Free trade creates jobs and benefits a county economically as a whole… the citizens of the United States need to start thinking of our country as a publicly traded stock with our actions either increasing or decreasing our country’s “Value” on a daily basis. If this notion could be created and we could get the general populace to feel like real ‘stake holders’ then we would be able to move in unison on major issues (i.e. healthcare, social security, trade, partner countries, etc…) and lobbyist groups would not have their strangle hold on this country.

A perfect example of this situation where Free Trade, jobs and our country’s “Value” are being impacted by lobbyists is the recent issue between Boeing and Delta Airlines. Recently, Boeing has been trying to ensure that the United States Ex-Im Bank loans are available for their increased trade sales pending to Air India; however, Delta Airline has been using their lobby power to prevent Boeing from getting access to the additional credit so Boeing would not be able to sell additional planes to Air India, one of Delta’s main competitors internationally. Delta Airlines has not been able to compete successfully with Air India on the Newark-Mumbai route. If Delta is not competitive then this is an issue that they have to strategically fix internally. It is not appropriate for Delta to use its influence with Senator Cantor from Virginia to sabotage the growth of one our country’s last major industries and the 1000s of jobs that weigh in the balance. The DeIta Lobby as well as the many other Lobby groups continually pull our country’s real “Value” lower and lower each day, while increasing the value of other countries and companies such as AirBus. AirBus would be a clear winner if Delta gets their way in this situation along with the other countries that provide labor/jobs for the Airbus production.

I am not speaking as a Republican or Democrat…this is a bipartisan issue.

This just happens to be a clearly black and white example that illustrates ‘Free Trade’ must be protected and encouraged as a vital part of a country’s existence.

I just want the people of the United States to come out of their 60 year comma, come together, and say “No” by voting in masses again for candidates that speak for the people!

Our Govt Missed the Course on ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ when it comes to China

Many at the top in the US Government apparently have not read Dale Carnegie’s book or have chosen to simply refute its findings. When dealing with another, try to be appreciative and see the situation from their angle and work backwards to achieve the mutually beneficial goal … this sums up a strategy that would be very effective when dealing with the Chinese (but it probably wouldn’t be good for his re-election).

For example, greeting the soon to be President of China, Xi Jinping in Washington after his first visit in 27 years with a two second hello and then an inquisition on his policies for trade, currency, and human rights for the rest of the time just does not seem right, especially when he is still the Vice President of China and cannot trump his current boss President Hu. It just seemed so obvious that this invitation to visit the White House was so staged for Obama’s re-election propaganda machine as if he were throwing free meat to his Labor Union voters that are chomping at the bit for blood.

In the Wall Street Journal yesterday, Obama again is slamming China at the WTO for not giving us complete access to all the precious metals they are mining…he is now setting up another “New Task Force to Press China’s trade and Business Practices”.

If he only spent this much effort trying to reduce our deficit and fix the major issues in our economy like Social Security and Medicare…we would all be in such a better position for ourselves and our children.

China is not the enemy and once the people of our country realize our politicians and media are just using China as an escape goat for their inability to lead and make our country a place where business and education flourish again, then we will remain in this state of slow deterioration that likes of Rome and other great nations eventually succumbed to ….

I am just saying… hope some cares about this stuff as well because I am just in shock on a daily basis when reading the news. History does not lie and this is the truth.

Will Cheap Capital from China Stop? Who should worry....

Based on latest data, China is becoming more savvy by way of investing its $3.2 trillion in reserves. Because of our politicians inability to agree on a real budget and deficit reduction plan, our economy has not only been down-graded, but worst of all, our currency keeps loosing more of its value.

China currently owns $1.73 trillion in US treasury notes as of June 30th which is slightly up from last year, but more disturbingly, China has divested their dollar portion of their reserve holdings from 65% to 54% as of June 30. This trend could easily signal a trend and drive interest rates higher in our economy as attracting new investors would require higher returns.

Our leadership keeps talking about currency manipulation and deficit issues with China, but if we corrected these issues, our economy would still see little material impact... we certainly would not see the creation of the +4 million jobs we have lost since 2007.

We need a government that is focused on our economy at home and that does not create 'red-herrings' in order to be re-elected. We need politicians that care about our country more than they care about being re-elected.

Xi Jinping's China Is A Trade Partner, Not A Trade Enemy

Los Angeles, CA—With the visit of China's vice president Xi Jinping to the United States and his meeting with President Obama, there is renewed hope for calming American fears regarding the Chinese superpower, according to one Asian business expert.

"If we can cut through the anti-China rhetoric, most American would see that the Chinese want to be our friends and business partners," says http://www.doingbusinesswithchina.net [Stephen Perl, author __title__ stephen perl book author china] of "Dancing with the Dragon: the Secrets for Doing Business with China.” "The Chinese are huge admirers of America...and increased trade and investment between our two countries brings business profits for both, and especially jobs to the US as as my book alludes to if the US could just take a moment to understand their culture and concentrate on building relations," continues Mr. Perl.

US exports to China grew faster than any other country in last several years and are only continuing to accelerate with almost 10% of all US exports going to China now, according to Mr. Perl who is also the CEO of http://www.pmfbancorp.com [1st PMF Bancorp __title__ pmf bancorp factoring], a leading U.S. commercial bank lender and the CEO of http://www.chinamartusa.com [ChinaMart Los Angeles __title__ sell to usa, export to usa], a platform that assists Chinese Companies to invest in and open US companies

Yesterday, Mr. Perl's PMF Bancorp was a host and key sponsor of China's Vice President Xi Jinping's Business Delegation to ChinaMart Los Angeles at LAX . The event provided a morning business mixer to meet many Chinese factories in the general merchandise area and to introduce the Canton Fair's trading division and the China Chamber of Commerce for Import/Export of Light Industrial Products & Arts-Crafts (aka "CCCLA" or "QQ"), the largest Chamber of General Merchandise in China with over 100,000 active members to encourage Trade between the US and China. "The CCCLA's main initiative this year is to focus on encouraging US exports to China and supporting US companies to exhibit in China," states Mr. Wang, the Chairman of the CCCLA.

Mr. Perl believes that there are two major issues in the media that need to be addresses quickly in order to help rectify the public perception between the US and China:

1. DEBT: Many American believe China owns most of US debt. The truth is that the Chinese own less than eight percent of the nearly $15 trillion American debt (Japan owns seven percent and England owns three percent). The majority of American debt is actually held by the US federal government (40%) and local and state governments (5%), with American taxpayers and companies (21%), and other foreign governments (17%) making up the rest.

2. IMPORTS: Many Americans believe that most of their paycheck goes to buying goods and services originating in China. But according to reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Federal Reserve the actual number is less than three percent (2.7% worth of imports measured against America's $14.5 trillion economy). In fact, nearly 86% of American consumer spending is on home-grown, made-in-the-USA products.

According to the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), exports to China neared one hundred billion dollars last year, an increase of nearly a third over the previous year.

US exports to China grew faster than any other country in last several years and are only continuing to accelerate with almost 10% of all US exports going to China now.

Mr. Perl is not alone in his positive attitude toward the Chinese. Erin Burnett, now the CNN anchor of "Outfront," pointed out as far back as 2007 that "China is our greatest friend right now.They're keeping prices low, and they're keeping prices for mortgages low too." She made the comment on "Hardball" when she was an anchor of CNBC's "Street Signs."

Stephen Perl's book, "http://www.doingbusinesswithchina.net [Doing Business with China: The Secrets of Dancing with the Dragon __title__ stephen perl book china business mart]" is a how-to that can help struggling American businesses and government policy makers better understand the Chinese culture and to do business with China in the future.

About the Author
Stephen Perl is the CEO of 1st PMF Bancorp (www.PMFbancorp.com), a leading US commercial bank lender, and the founder and CEO of ChinaMart Los Angeles (www.ChinaMartUSA.com), the first non-government platform that assists and supports Chinese with investing in the US and with US trade. Located at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), ChinaMart is the largest physical showroom and investment platform of its kind in the US. Mr. Perl actively serves on the County of Los Angeles Board of Governors and the City of Los Angeles Economic Advisory Board. Additionally he is a director on the board of the Commercial Finance Association, the largest commercial lender’s association in the US, and a certified United States Export-Import Bank loan officer.

New Book: "Doing Business with China: The Secrets of Dancing with the Dragon" by Stephen Perl

ChinaMart USA Book Publishing Inc. in conjunction with Arbor Books has published the latest book in a series focused on furthering international relations between the US and China.

ChinaMart and/or Arbor Books do not necessarily represent the authors ideas but supports the overall cooperation between the two great countries of the US and China in various books on the related subjects.

“No matter what changes affect the international situation, our commitment to developing the Sino-U.S. cooperative partnership should never waver in the face of passing developments,” states Vice President Xi Jinping.

We look forward to having all our politician having the foresight of China's Vice President Xi Jinping. Please enjoy our latest publication.

Book Intro:
Stephen Perl, one of the leading experts on trade with China and the author of his new book, “Doing Business with China: The Secrets of Dancing With the Dragon” says that it has never been a better opportunity to make money in the Chinese market with consumer demand about to explode.

Why read this book?

• Countless Jewels for Business and Government Execs wanting to understand China better
  
• Understanding the Art of Relationships in China
  
• Deal making in China
  
• Setting up New Companies in China
  
• Their Legal system, property ownership, taxes, financing, Sales Channels in China...
  and much, much more.

"Today, China and Asia are the fastest growing economies in the world," says Mr. Perl. "It is vital that US businesses take advantage of this trillion-dollar Chinese market when consumer demand is growing at tremendous rates and the Chinese public's preference is to buy ‘Made in the USA’ goods.” “We know this to true because the fastest growth in our exports are happening to China…so why aren’t we treating China like one of our best clients instead of alienating them on policy issues that are not material relative to nation’s future economy”, asserts Mr. Perl.

Buy this book online at any of the major retailers: Amazon.com, Nook.com, and Kindle.com.

Author Bio:
Stephen Perl is the CEO of 1st PMF Bancorp (www.PMFbancorp.com), a leading US commercial bank lender, and the founder and CEO of ChinaMart Los Angeles (www.ChinaMartUSA.com), the largest physical showroom and investment platform of its kind that assists and supports China and US trade. Mr. Perl actively serves on the County of Los Angeles Board of Governors and the City of Los Angeles Economic Advisory Board. Additionally he is a director on the board of the Commercial Finance Association, the largest commercial lenders’s association in the US and certified United States Bank Export-Import Lender.