Gordon Platt

Global Finance’s first annual list of Who’s Who in The Middle East.     

Capital Markets | Foreign Exchange
The strong dollar has beaten down emerging markets currencies ahead of prospective Federal Reserve rate increases, but the fallout for developing economies will vary widely.

Capital Markets | Foreign Exchange
Currency pegs around the world are threatening to come unglued following the Swiss National Bank’s surprise move to drop the exchange rate floor of the euro versus the Swiss franc.

Capital Markets | Fixed-Income Strategy
Investors lined up recently to pay for the privilege of lending money to Finland.

Capital Markets | Equity Capital Raising
Burgundy vineyard Domaine Chanzy expects to be the first company to conduct an initial public offering using crowdfunding, which enables companies to raise money from members of the public, typically via the Internet.
 

Market Focus | Middle East Investment Banking
Although investment bankers remain cautious about Middle Eastern prospects in the wake of falling oil prices, M&A activity and debt issuance remain bright spots.

Capital Markets | Q&A
Axel Merk is president and chief investment officer of Merk Investments, manager of the Merk Funds.
 

Capital Markets | Corporate Debt
As Russian companies strive to cope with higher borrowing costs and a shortage of dollars and euros to repay foreign debt, emerging markets bonds are coming under increasing scrutiny by investors.
 

Trends | Foreign Exchange
Foreign exchange traders complained that lack of volatility in the market last year was drying up their business. These same traders are now feeling whiplash from the Swiss National Bank’s surprise move on January 15 to de-peg the “Swissie” from the euro.

Presenting the World’s Best Trade & Supply Chain Finance Awards for 2015.

Capital Markets | Sovereign Debt
The Philippines sold $2 billion of 25-year bonds in January, in a highly successful sale that attracted $13.5 billion in orders.

Capital Markets | Pharmaceuticals M&A
Walgreen CEO Greg Wasson grabbed a tiger by the tail with his plan for the biggest US drugstore chain to acquire Alliance Boots, a European multinational drug dispensary.
 

Capital Markets | Mergers & Acquistions
Analysts expect 2015 to be a great year for mergers and acquisitions, with the US leading the way.
 

Regulatory uncertainty, technological change and traders behaving badly have collided in a perfect storm for banks’ foreign exchange operations

Sovereign Debt | Capital Markets
Governments in Africa issued a record amount of debt in international markets in 2014, taking advantage of strong investor demand and low borrowing costs ahead of the Federal Reserve’s expected rate increases this year.

Corporate Tax | Trends
By replacing cascading sales taxes with a value-added tax (VAT), Africa has succeeded in lowering its total tax rate to 46.6% from a peak of 72.2% in 2005.

UK Corporate Tax | Trends
Britain likely will succeed in taxing multinational companies at a 25% rate on their UK operations beginning in April, without violating international tax treaties, analysts say, but tensions are rising between countries on suspicions that MNCs are engaging in global tax evasion.

Corporate Debt | Capital Markets
Euroclear will extend its cross-border settlement services at the end of January to Mexican corporate debt instruments known as cebures, or “bourse certificates.” This will enable Mexican companies to issue peso-denominated debt specifically targeted to international investors.

China | Capital Markets
In a major step toward opening China’s capital account, Hong Kong and Shanghai have linked their equity markets and abolished the cap on how much Chinese currency Hong Kong residents may purchase (or sell) daily.

The market in over-the-counter derivatives is shrinking, while exchange-listed futures and interest rate swaps traded on new swap execution facilities (SEFs) are setting records. New regulations and capital requirements are squeezing bank trading desks and forcing more derivatives trading onto exchanges and centralized clearing.

India | Capital Markets
The rupee realizes international ambitions. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) sold its first rupee-denominated bonds in London in November to attract international investment in India’s infrastructure.

Qatar | Country Report
Qatar shows no signs of slowing its internal and external investment. The IMF says Qatar’s real GDP growth should average 6% to 7% in the medium term, supported by public investments, and will likely remain the fastest-growing in the region

Canada & China | Capital Markets
Canada and China have agreed to support the increased use of renminbi in trade, commerce and investment between the two countries.

Foreign Exchange | Capital Markets
How to take the gaming instinct out of foreign exchange traders has become the order of the day, following last month’s imposition of $4.3 billion in fines on six global banks for manipulating currency benchmarks.

Qatar | Country Report
The QIA, one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds with $170 billion of assets, was initially rebuffed, but regardless of the outcome of the deal, it has other fish to fry.

FX Supplement 2014 | Overview
Will regulation repair forex’s damaged reputation—and are banks ready for the culture change?             

Capital Markets | Mergers & Acquisitions
Global cross-border mergers and acquisitions totaled $1.1 trillion during the first nine months of 2014, more than double the level of the same period a year earlier, according to Thomson Reuters.

Capital Markets | Myanmar
The frontier market with a population of 60 million is seeking to rejoin the global economy following nearly 50 years of isolation under military rule.
 

FX Supplement 2014 | Renminbi Expansion
Despite media hype, the renminbi still has some way to go before challenging the dollar as a major currency for international trade.

FX Supplement 2014 | Introduction
Many dyed-in-the-wool foreign exchange traders lament the regulatory changes sweeping the industry more than six years after the global financial crisis.

Management | Compliance Risk
Corporations are stepping up their efforts to mitigate execution risk in cross-border mergers and acquisitions, as growing numbers of regulators worldwide are becoming more stringent about enforcing antitrust and anticorruption laws.

Emerging Markets
Corporate bond markets denominated in domestic currencies are developing rapidly in many emerging markets, enabling local companies to issue debt without having to worry about repaying it in revalued dollars.

Capital Markets | Q&A
Tim Gee is a partner in the London office and global head of mergers and acquisitions at Baker & McKenzie.

Global Finance’s annual list of Who’s Who in Foreign Exchange.      

Trends | Foreign Exchange
The global imbalance created by Europe’s huge current-account surplus and excess savings has created a glut of euros that could condemn the single currency to broad-based weakening.

Trends | CryptoCurrencies
There are potential benefits that bitcoin or bitcoin-like technology­—as opposed to the cryptocurrency itself—could bring to the derivatives marketplace.

Capital Markets | Middle East Equity
The Middle East is experiencing a boom in initial public offerings, following years of relative inactivity since the global financial crisis. The area’s IPO markets began to recover in the fourth quarter of last year, and new share issues are now coming at a fever pitch, despite falling oil prices that could threaten regional economies.

MANAGEMENT | TAX PLANNING
When Congress returns following the November elections, the issue of what to do about US companies making foreign acquisitions to relocate overseas and save on taxes will be high on the agenda.

TRENDS | RENMINBI TRADING
Even though Toronto is the center of Canada’s financial industry, much of the country’s trade with China passes through Vancouver. Groups in both cities have decided to work together to promote Canada as a trading hub for the renminbi.

CAPITAL MARKETS | Q&A
Julie Dickson is equity portfolio manager at emerging-markets investment manager Ashmore.

Global Finance presents its annual report on the performance of the world’s central bank governors.

Global Finance unveils its annual list of the  best banks globally, regionally and by country. The banking industry remains under stress, but there are bright spots.

CAPITAL MARKETS | FOREIGN EXCHANGE
As the Federal Reserve winds down its bond-buying program and prepares to raise rates, analysts are debating the likelihood of a repeat of last year’s “taper tantrum”—when the mere hint of a gradual end to quantitative easing in the US caused huge disruptions to emerging markets (EMs).

CAPITAL MARKETS | AFRICAN EQUITY
Initial public offerings on the Nairobi Securities Exchange have been few and far between in recent years.

CAPITAL MARKETS | ISLAMIC FINANCE
To diversify its sources of financing, Goldman Sachs plans to issue a benchmark Islamic bond, at a time when demand for sukuk is outrunning supply. Meanwhile, South Africa is planning its first sovereign sukuk, and the Egyptian government is working on a new sukuk law, following the military’s overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi last year.

TRENDS | SRI LANKA
Hiran Embuldeniya, managing director at York Street Partners, an investment bank in Colombo, Sri Lanka, says there are plenty of opportunities for the firm to do business in the country as it rapidly develops in the wake of a 30-year civil war that ended in 2009.

COUNTRY REPORT | EGYPT
Pressure is building on Egypt’s president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, to deliver economic gains. Falling investment and a sharp drop in tourist arrivals have weakened growth over the past three years. But a rapid return to pre-2011 expansion levels appears unlikely.

CAPITAL MARKETS | FOREIGN EXCHANGE
It is a changing world for FX traders. Regulatory uncertainty and low volatility are putting a damper on the foreign exchange market, with spreads narrowing by 20% already this year—to record lows.

MANAGEMENT | TAX PLANNING
Gregory Wasson, president and CEO of Walgreen, says the company “concluded it was not in the best interest of shareholders to attempt to re-domicile outside the US” to cut its tax bill.

CAPITAL MARKETS | MIDDLE EAST EQUITY
Riyadh, the Saudi capital, has already built a new financial district, named after King Abdullah, but its 42 new skyscrapers stand largely empty. That could change following the decision by the government in July to allow foreign financial institutions to invest directly in listed shares, starting in the first half of 2015.