Justin Keay

Romania has a troublesome reputation but robust growth, and is working to raise its game through the tech industry and improvements to the business environment.

With popular elected leaders and strong growth in their economies, the sometimes-feisty CEE nations are standing tall—and keeping an eye on corruption and labor costs.

Slovakia's new prime minister Peter Pellegrini is struggling the escape the shadow of his predecessor who was forced to resign after the murder of a journalist investigating corrupt politicians.

New resource-extraction operations, Russia’s economic recovery and Asian investment are lifting prospects across the Caucasus.

As the Mediterranean island nation's economy has stabilized, so too have its banks.

The failure of UN negotiations aside, 2017 was a positive year of consolidation and growth for the Cypriot economy.

Czech PM Babiš is an outspoken billionaire while the Polish PM, Morawiecki, is more of a technician, who negotiated Poland’s accession to EU before going on to chair Bank Zachodni WBK, part of the Santander Group.

Turkey’s geographic and economic position in the middle—between East and West, developing and developed—has made it a hub for multinationals.

They are expected to grow by an average 3.3% this year, 0.9% higher than May’s forecast and a big improvement over last year’s 1.9% growth.

Defined loosely as the region spreading from Israel, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria in the northeast, and including Egypt in the southwest, with Cyprus off the shore, the Levant sees many points of light despite the current gloomy outlook.

The country's economy has proven remarkably resilient after a series of crises rocked the country.

Turkey’s banking authority BDDK said total banking assets had increased 7.3% since the end of 2016, reaching a total of $826 billion. 

Since becoming president in December, Shavkat Mirziyoyev has embraced the West, the IMF and the EBRD normalizing relations with the country after a 10-year freeze.

What must be done to revive the  CEE region’s competitive edge in high-tech innovation?

Uncertainty about the UK's plan to leave the European Union is making Britain's business community nervous.

Cyprus is emphasizing sustainable growth and addressing problems such as high unemployment and nonperforming loans.

With the presidential referendum finally over, Turkish business wants to see its government get back to probusiness reforms.

After years of reform and a series of elections, the countries of Southeastern Europe are stable and starting to see a pickup in economic activity

Last year, after a difficult 2015, it seemed that just about everything that could go wrong for the South Caucasus actually did. In April, simmering tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the contested region of Armenian-occupied Nagorno-Karabakh exploded into renewed ...

Ever since Theresa May became Britain’s prime minister in the wake of last year’s fateful EU referendum, she has sought to define herself—and her government—as something more than just the executors of the “people’s will” in carrying out Brexit.

Even by the Balkans’ standards, the honeymoon accorded Romania’s new Social Democratic Party (PSD) government was brief after the party’s victory in the December 11 elections.

Negotiations in Geneva have resumed over the decades-old division of Cyprus.  

Romania’s voters gave an overwhelming endorsement to the Social Democratic Party (PSD) in the December 11 parliamentary elections. Now the challenge is to spur growth while keeping a lid on corruption. 

Western European banks and institutions are expanding financing for small and medium-sized companies in Turkey. 

Political turmoil is roiling markets abroad and at home, yet observers say fundamentals should leave the country well-placed to draw FDI when sunshine returns.

Cyprus offers some good news in the eastern Mediterranean, where good news has been scarce of late. 

Syria’s agony is imposing serious costs for neighbors in terms of refugees, lost trade and dampened investment.

If you think record-low interest rates are the result of years of expansionary monetary policices, think again. 

Despite the summer’s turmoil, Turkey’s economy retains appeal for investors, and its currency is holding firm.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev, new ruler of Uzbekistan, looks likely to be just as much a hard-line autocrat as his predecessor was. 

Turkey, a highly wireless nation, embraces mobile technology for financial transactions.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin seem to have mended fences. Will the alliance last?  

Regional Report: Central & Eastern Europe
Despite a host of challenges, Europe’s formerly communist countries are poised for strong, steady growth.

Turkey | It’s way too early to determine the long-term cost to Turkish democracy and society of July’s failed coup, and it is equally tricky to assess its immediate impact on Turkish investment and business.

British voters took a major leap into the unknown by voting to leave the European Union by the narrowest of margins. What does it mean for the economy of Britain, of Europe, of the world? 

Turkey
Every emerging economy has a tipping point beyond which investor sentiment turns negative, despite fundamentals.
 

Casting off a checkered past, the region’s diverse economies are resurgent, with a focus on investment and reforms—and sustaining their crucial small and midsize enterprises.

In April the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) commemorated a quarter-century of history, with president Suma Chakrabarti emphasizing how far the Bank had come since its first investment—to WBK Bank in Poland (now Bank Zachodni WBK).

Strong growth and other upbeat data in 2015 bucked the West’s collective vision of a nation in crisis. But without structural reforms, the picture may darken.

Not long ago, Romania was synonymous with sluggish growth, underperformance and corruption. Analysts acknowledged its huge potential but said it wasn’t being realized.

Few places on Turkey’s coasts have managed development quite as well as the former ancient Greek port city of Halicarnassus, today Bodrum.

During complex times for Turkey, banks, at least, can rest assured that their system is running smoothly, is well capitalized and well regulated.

Asian Development Bank Section: ADB Annual Meeting
Europe has much to gain from the fast-growing region, where per capita GDP is exploding—and vice versa.

Asian Development Bank Section: ADB Annual Meeting
Last year’s historic Asian Development Bank (ADB) annual meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan saw the bank and member countries commit to a wide range of goals and reforms.

Newsmakers | Slovakia
Since he first became prime minister 10 years ago, Robert Fico has been the great survivor of Slovakia’s febrile and unpredictable political scene.

Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia are not masters of their own economic destinies, with events in Russia and the rest of the region casting a shadow over these countries’ efforts to boost economic and investor confidence.

In November the European Investment Bank published its latest Bank Lending Survey for Central Europe and Southeastern Europe.

Unlike some of its Eastern European neighbors, the Czech Republic has shunned joining the eurozone and has surprised many with its stable and healthy levels of economic growth. However, progress is still needed on business transparency. 

Turkey
When the Justice and Development Party (AKP) swept elections in November, financial markets were focused neither on prime minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, nor on president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. All eyes were on new deputy prime minister Mehmet Şimşek, the former Finance minister, who may be the only reformer within the largely statist AKP.

Elections over, Turkey firms up plans to become a financial hub.