February 2016

Smart corporates are using mobile apps to collect real-time data, analyze it and feed it to employees, who can respond immediately. Companies that neglect these tools could find themselves at a disadvantage.

The republic of Trinidad and Tobago girds for austerity as oil brings in less foreign exchange.

The junk market is hurting. Experts predict the pain will continue, with defaults peaking a couple of years from now.

But big, national competitors can’t always offer the local touch and expertise that regional clients prize.

Challenger banks join start-ups and outside providers in supplier finance to get funding where it’s needed most. 

Cheng Jun, general manager, global trade services, Bank of China, says One Belt, One Road will expand China’s role in international finance.

Michael McDonough, global head of corporate trade and supply chain finance at JP Morgan Chase, sees the supplier finance market evolving to embrace more diverse industry sectors, and banks expanding the range of funding to clients. 

World trade may be growing more slowly since the financial crisis, yet demand for trade finance is accelerating.

Back to Awards Coverage GLOBAL WINNERS Best Supply Chain Finance Provider—Bank | BNP Paribas For a significant number of banks, supply chain finance offerings are geared primarily toward large credit-worthy buyers and the suppliers they have identified as wanting to ...

World trade may be growing more slowly since the financial crisis, yet demand for trade finance is accelerating.

Challenger banks join start-ups and outside providers in supplier finance to get funding where it’s needed most. 

Carina Gyllenbring, head of trade & export finance at Swedbank, says the Baltics have proved remarkably resilient in dealing with the trade shocks of their neighbors and trading partners.

Back to Awards Coverage GLOBAL WINNERS BEST TRADE FINANCE BANK | Citi Citi’s Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) franchise provides integrated cash management and trade finance services to multinational corporations worldwide. It is distinguished by its massive global footprint. The ...

Philip Panaino, regional head, transaction banking, Africa & Middle East, Standard Chartered, says awareness of supply chain finance needs to expand from corporate treasurers to their broader organizations.

Peter Hayes, global head of invest-ment research for Prudential Real Estate Investors, joined Global Finance editors in New York to talk about which property markets look hot in 2016—and which look too hot.

The question this year for investors in China is whether the government will continue moving toward a free-market economy—or keep grabbing the wheel.

The foundations for economic recovery have been laid by Matteo Renzi’s government, which is tackling fundamental issues at the heart of Italy’s problems. But he has yet to work his magic on public spending.

Saudi Arabia is the Gulf Cooperation Council’s largest economy, but major economic, political and social challenges threaten the kingdom’s immediate economic future. Reducing its dependence on oil and gas is now a case of when, not if.

Mining and gas reserves made Mozambique a darling among foreign investors—until last year. Now the government needs to diversify.

Cuba: News that Anglo-Dutch consumer products company Unilever will return to Cuba to build a $35 million plant in the special development zone at the port of Mariel, about 40 kilometers west of Havana, is one of the clearest signs yet that the communist nation is taking a more pragmatic approach to foreign direct investment.

Japan’s Financial Services Agency is preparing legislation allowing the government to relax restrictions on fintech investment, promising a technological jolt to one of the world’s biggest financial markets.

A new era kicked off on December 31, 2015, for the 10 countries that are part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations: The alliance launched the Asean Economic Community (AEC), a trade bloc aimed at creating a unified, cross-border market where labor, services and capital can flow without restrictions.

Spain: Legislators in Catalonia elected Carles Puigdemont, who has been pushing for independence for the big Spanish region for years, as president on January 10.

South Africa: After burning through two Finance ministers in 18 months—with the second having held the job for less than a week­—South Africa’s president, Jacob Zuma, moved in mid-December to restore a measure of stability to the post.

Brazil: The Banco Central do Brasil gave new Finance minister Nelson Barbosa a bit of help on January 20, when it decided to hold the short-term interest rate, the Selic, to 14.25%.

Tsai Ing-wen, leader of what was—until a couple of weeks ago—Taiwan’s opposition party, will become the island’s first female president this spring following a January 16 election in which she and her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won control of both the presidency and the legislature from the incumbent Kuomintang (KMT) party.

Trends | Taxation
As part of a crackdown on generous tax incentives across the European Union, in January the European Commission (EC) demanded Belgium claw back €700 million ($762 million) in tax breaks from at least 35 European firms.

Capital Markets | Mergers & Acquisitions
In an effort to boost the country’s sagging economic growth, China is consolidating key industries, hoping to make them more efficient ahead of eventual partial privatizations.

Capital Markets | Fixed Income
A bail-in provision, which places the onus on bondholders and other investors to write down their holdings in the event of winding up a troubled financial institution within the European Union, came into effect on January 1, 2016.

Management | Risk Management
Cyberattacks, safety concerns, climate change, regulatory demands, declining oil prices, less demand from China, a crumbling and volatile stock market: There is no lack of risks in doing business, and at the start of 2016, they are ever- present for corporations small and large.

Capital Markets | Equity Offering
A potential partial privatization of Saudi Arabia’s state oil company, Saudi Aramco, would require the company to remove its veil of secrecy.

Management | Corporate Governance
Despite various initiatives to get more women into the executive pipeline, the number of US corporations with a female CEO remains stuck in the low double digits.

Capital Markets | Foreign Exchange
Locals as well as visitors to Zimbabwe will soon be able to walk into shops and pay for purchases in renminbi.

Trends | Peace Deals
Low oil prices are widening Colombia’s current-account deficit, dampening the confidence of foreign investors and dragging down the economy.

Trends | Financial Accounting
A new international accounting standard that came into effect at the beginning of 2016 is already transforming how companies around the world think about their balance sheets.

Capital Markets | Corporate Bonds
Demand for investment-grade corporate debt seems insatiable, even as investors shun riskier high-yield bonds.