April 2007

A QUESTION OF PRINCIPLES As corporate responsibility becomes a staple corporate tool, it is easier than ever for corporations to live by principles they can be proud of. The cost of failing to act responsibly is rising, too. Pity the ...

STARS OF THE NEW RUSSIA Russia’s attempts to broaden its economic base away from a resource-driven model are proving as profitable as they are successful. Russia is becoming more authoritative, there is considerable uncertainty over who will be the next ...

ROUNDTABLE / TURKEY At a recent roundtable in Istanbul, Global Finance brought together a group of leading figures in the Turkish banking industry to discuss the key issues facing this rapidly developing and growing economy. GLOBAL FINANCE: Does geopolitical shock ...

GLOBAL CUSTODY BUYER’S GUIDE Global Finance presents its annual sponsored guide to the leading providers in the global custody market. Custody assets: 2006: $13 trillion 2005: $10.9 trillion Ratings: (long-term deposits) Moody’s Aa2, S&P; AA-, Fitch AA Client profile: By ...

THE MIDDLE EAST Economic reforms are spurring a flood of private sector investment that is helping to put the region’s liquidity to productive use. The Manhattan skyline that erupted from the desert flatlands of Dubai is a symbol of a ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS / CORPORATE DEBT Jamaica-based Digicel placed $1.4 billion of high-yield bonds with institutional investors in an innovative financing to take the fastest-growing mobile phone operator in the Caribbean private. Irish billionaire Denis O’Brien, founder and chairman of ...

DR NEWS Pink Sheets, a company that provides services for the US over-the-counter securities markets, introduced an alternative trading system on March 5 for international companies listed on qualified foreign stock exchanges. Pink Sheets selected The Bank of New York ...

NEWS The volatile Saudi Arabian stock market, which lost 50% of its value in a steep correction in 2006, has staged a strong recovery, helped by rising oil prices and investor demand for financial issues. MSCI Barra, which launched equity ...

BRAZIL New fields: Increasing demand for biofuels is fueling investment in Brazil's ethanol sector. Higher oil prices continue to boost demand for biofuels, making Brazil’s ethanol sector a prime investment target. While annual global ethanol exports total some 6.5 billion ...

INDIA India's petrochemicals industry is set to get bigger with the announced merger between Reliance Industries and Indian Petrochemicals Corp. As the Indian economy marches strongly toward an annual 10% GDP growth rate, its inadequate infrastructure is beginning to create ...

COMPANY TO WATCH: CHINA HUIYUAN JUICE/CHINA China Huiyuan Juice, based in Beijing, raised more than $300 million in an initial public offering in Hong Kong in late February, and its shares soared 66% in their first day of trading. Individual ...

CHINA People power: This year's congress loosened rules on owning property China’s National People’s Congress, which held its annual meeting in Beijing from March 5 through March 16, produced several groundbreaking new policies, among them a law that protects private ...

RUSSIA Dmitry Medvedev The global emerging market correction brought investors in Russia back to earth, as the country’s equity market lost 10% in three days. After appreciating 71% in 2006, the Russian market is down 7% in the first 10 ...

A QUESTION OF PRINCIPLES As corporate responsibility becomes a staple corporate tool, it is easier than ever for corporations to live by principles they can be proud of. The cost of failing to act responsibly is rising, too. Pity the ...

FOREIGN EXCHANGE The apparent cause of the turmoil in global equity markets and emerging market currencies that began in late February was China’s crackdown on unauthorized stock trading, which triggered an 8.8% decline in the Shanghai stock market in a ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS / CORPORATE DEBT Jamaica-based Digicel placed $1.4 billion of high-yield bonds with institutional investors in an innovative financing to take the fastest-growing mobile phone operator in the Caribbean private. Irish billionaire Denis O’Brien, founder and chairman of ...

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS An investor group led by private equity firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and Texas Pacific Group definitively agreed to acquire Dallas-based power company TXU for $32 billion in the biggest leveraged buyout in history. To help win ...

CORPORATE FINANCING FOCUS Despite the sharp tumble in the Chinese stock market in late February and early March, which triggered a global downturn in equity prices, Asia could still be the source of a large share of the world’s demand ...

COLOMBIA Zuluaga: Colombia will have to live with a strong currency Oscar Iván Zuluaga, who took over as Colombia’s new finance minister in March, faces important challenges ahead. Among these will be the need to guide the nation’s economy into ...

CHINA Kuhn: China welcomes scrutiny China has long attracted Western investors with its promise of newfound riches and a recently liberalized economy seeking foreign know-how and investment. Yet anyone who has done business in the country knows that, despite WTO ...

THE MIDDLE EAST Dramatic growth in many of the Middle East’s economies is prompting a sharp rise in competition in the region’s financial services industry. The Qatar Financial Center Authority last month moved into its sleek, new 20-story headquarters in ...

RELIANCE GROWS ON PRIVATE SECTOR THE MIDDLE EAST The nations of the Middle East are increasingly looking to the private sector to help build crucial infrastructure projects. In Jordan, a light railway will link the capital with Zarqa As the ...