Global news and insight for corporate financial professionals
UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES By Udayan Gupta The world’s central banks are on a desperate mission to stave off deflation. But even if their short-term fixes work, the long-term outcomes may have unplanned results. Central banks are in an ...
BUILDING IN RESILIENCE By Karen Kroll Creating a flexible, robust supply chain is key to reducing the likelihood and potential impact of disruptions. Effectively managing supply chain risk, while always important, is becoming increasingly critical. Companies are ...
NURTURING GLOBAL BREADBASKETS By Justin Keay It is time to address developmental roadblocks globally if the world’s food supplies are to meet demand over the next 40 years. There is probably no industry where the basic laws ...
ODD MAN OUT By Dan Keeler One of the few frontier markets to adopt the euro, Estonia has proved to be a beacon of hope in a region of uncertainty. Estonia is on a healthy trajectory. Economic ...
SWEEPING CHANGE By Arthur Clennam Recent easing of regulatory restrictions will increase offshore circulation of the renminbi and connect China with the rest of the world. Smart treasurers and chief financial officers of multinational companies have sought ...
A DEFINING MOMENT By Anita Hawser Global Finance presents the winners of its awards for the World’s Best Islamic Financial Insititutions 2013. With Islamic banking assets predicted to pass the $1.1 trillion mark in 2012 and Islamic ...
World’s Best Islamic Financial Institutions 2013: Country Winners Algeria Banque Al Baraka D’Algérie Bahrain Al Baraka Islamic Bank Bahrain Bangladesh Islamic Bank Bangladesh Brunei Darussalam Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam Egypt Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt Indonesia Bank Muamalat Indonesia Jordan ...
ISLAMIC FINANCE DEAL OF THE YEAR: Jebel Ali Free Zone Islamic Financing Facility And Sukuk $1.2 BILLION SYNDICATED ISLAMIC FINANCING FACILITY: Mandated lead arrangers and joint bookrunners Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Citi, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD, National Bank ...
World’s Best Islamic Financial Institutions 2013: Regional Winners Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Al Rajhi Bank Non-GCC Middle East/Africa Al Baraka Bank Asia Maybank Islamic Berhad Europe Bank of London and the Middle East GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL Al Rajhi Bank According ...
World’s Best Islamic Financial Institutions: Global Winners Best Sukuk Bank HSBC Best Islamic Retail Bank Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Best Islamic Investment Bank Samba Best Takaful (Insurance) Provider Etiqa Takaful Berhad Best Asset Management Company CIMB Principal Islamic Asset Management ...
NEW OIL REFINERY TO NEARLY DOUBLE NIGERIA’S OUTPUT By Antonio Guerrero Aliko Dangote, head of the Dangote Group and ranked as Africa’s wealthiest man, will invest up to $8 billion to build a new oil refinery complex in his ...
STRONG RESPONSE TO NEW BANKING LICENSES By Aaron Chaze As of early May nearly 100 Indian corporate entities have expressed interest in the Reserve Bank of India’s invitation for applications for new bank licenses. Photo Credits: RUPA / ...
ROLE REVERSAL By Ronald Fink Global Finance sat down with Yves Zlotowski, chief economist of the economic research department of trade risk consultancy Coface, to get his take on the investment opportu-nities and challenges of emerging markets. ...
ADAPT TO SURVIVE Being innovative is much more difficult to achieve than it is to discuss. Particularly in the highly complex, highly structured environment of the average transaction bank. Add in ever-tightening purse strings and the absolute requirement to ...
SOCIAL INTERACTION By Hilary Johnson Savvy executives can add value by under-standing how and when social media can be a tool to improve both internal and external communication. No corporate treasury department is an island anymore. This ...
WOOING THE CORPORATE AUDIENCE By Rebecca Brace Going beyond connectivity is SWIFT’s mantra to corporates these days, but can the bank-owned organization be as fleet of foot as companies would like? SWIFT’s corporate solutions were once limited ...
INCREASED COMPETITION IS THE MOTHER OF INVENTION By Rob Daly Transaction banks are working hard to be more agile and innovative in meeting corporate treasury needs. Some are succeeding better than others, and those that push boundaries may ...
WAITING FOR THE RENAISSANCE By Gordon Platt Egypt’s elections promised much in terms of building a modern and democratic state. But the realities of governing for the Muslim Brotherhood are proving more difficult than initially thought—and some economic ...
MILESTONES: GLOBAL By Erik Heinrich Japan has been invited to participate in negotiations that extend the reach of Nafta into South America and the Asia Pacific region. Other members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), expected to be the world’s ...
MILESTONES: LUXEMBOURG By Forrest Jones Another tax haven is set to unveil its operations, this time in Western Europe. Luxembourg recently agreed to share confidential banking details belonging to multinational companies with its neighbors. The move, which will help ...
MILESTONES: MALAYSIA By Thomas Clouse Malaysia’s National Front coalition will extend its 56-year reign by another five years after maintaining its parliamentary majority in a tightly contested and controversial election. The National Front, a group of political parties led ...
MILESTONES: IRAQ By Gordon Platt The five largest nongovernmental banks in Iraq posted a 207% increase in aggregate earnings between 2010 and 2012, thanks to the country’s strong economic growth and increasing demand for credit, according to a report on ...
CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS: CORPORATE DEBT By Gordon Platt Apple’s $17 billion corporate bond offering was not only the largest in history, but it exemplified a clever financial strategy that will save the company billions of dollars in US taxes. ...
CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS: GLOBAL EQUITY/DRS By Gordon Platt Brazilian companies are rushing to go public despite a double-digit decline in the benchmark Bovespa stock index so far this year. A record $7 billion was raised from six initial public offerings ...
CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS: FOREIGN EXCHANGE By Gordon Platt The dollar strengthened following a surprisingly strong US employment report for April, while the European Central Bank cut rates and hinted at more monetary policy easing to come. Analysts say the US ...
CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS: MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS By Gordon Platt Technology deals—ranging from telecommunications to biotechnology and oilfield equipment—have kept the US mergers and acquisitions arena active of late. German real estate and Asian consumer markets have also attracted ...
NEWSMAKERS: ITALY By Gilly Wright “Italy is dying from austerity alone. Growth policies cannot wait,” announced Italy’s new premier, Enrico Letta, in his first keynote speech. Can Letta pass reforms with weak coalition partners? Saying that priorities would ...
NEWSMAKERS: VENEZUELA By Paula L. Green Everyone from consumers weary of battling rising inflation to importers wrestling with a devalued currency and foreign and domestic investors whose companies were nationalized will have a stake in the actions Nelson José Merentes ...
NEWSMAKERS: ICELAND By Valentina Pasquali Back to the future is the theme in Iceland after voters rejected the austerity policies of the left-of-center government in power for the past four years and reinstalled the same center-right coalition that presided over ...
NEWSMAKERS: CANADA By Joel Kranc Few people were completely surprised when Mark Carney, the head of the Bank of Canada, broke the news earlier this year that he was leaving his post to head up the Bank of England. ...
NEWSMAKERS: SPAIN By Luca Ventura Appointed as chief executive of Santander in 2002, Alfredo Sáenz took less than a decade to turn the Spanish domestic lender into a multinational giant with operations in 40 countries. New CEO Marín kept a ...
"Pent-up demand is now showing up in key indicators. In pole position is the US economy, where multiple indicators show that the economy is ready to race. Housing—the harbinger market—has rebalanced, re-igniting dormant residential construction. Given this market’s broad linkages ...
