March 2012

ELECTION YEAR   By Laurence Neville   Numerous countries around the world are holding elections this year, which could create market uncertainty and hold back much-needed political decision-making—particularly in Europe.   Unlike 2011, which was a year of "unknown unknowns," ...

By Anita Hawser BEST BANK FOR CASH MANAGEMENT—GLOBAL WINNER Citi Citi has a strong track record of managing complex global mandates, which plays to its strengths and presence across hundreds of countries and currencies. It boasts an impressive client list ...

ANNUAL SURVEY: DIGGING DEEPER   By Anita Hawser   Companies want ever-more-detailed information to better manage cash and liquidity. Those banks that are investing in best-in-class risk and liquidity management solutions are winning corporate clients.   Last year was a ...

By Anita Hawser BEST BANK FOR LIQUIDITY MANAGEMENT NORTH AMERICA Bank of America Merrill Lynch The large global cash management banks have invested heavily in their liquidity management capabilities, particularly when it comes to helping companies gain a consolidated global ...

By Anita Hawser BEST BANK FOR PAYMENTS AND COLLECTIONS NORTH AMERICA Wells Fargo As a leading Automated Clearing House originator and receiver, Wells Fargo has played an integral role in helping companies make the move from paper-based payments to ACH. ...

By Anita Hawser BEST BANK FOR RISK MANAGEMENT NORTH AMERICA Bank of America Merrill Lynch As a principal bank for large corporates in the US, Bank of America Merrill Lynch tries to take a holistic rather than product-focused approach to ...

By Anita Hawser BEST PROVIDER OF MONEY MARKET FUNDS NORTH AMERICA J.P. Morgan Asset Management In the current economic climate where investors are more cognizant of counterparty risk, highly rated money market funds with sizable assets under management and clear investment ...

By Anita Hawser BEST TREASURY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS & SERVICES BEST ACCOUNTS PAYABLE SERVICES Bottomline Technologies Bottomline provides a range of payment, e-invoicing and document management solutions for a wide range of companies. File upload, invoice creation via Web entry and scanning ...

By Anita Hawser BEST WHITE-LABEL SYSTEM PROVIDER BNY Mellon Enterprise Treasury Services A consistent winner in this category, BNY Mellon is one of the few banks with a business dedicated solely to providing other financial institutions with white-label solutions, which ...

EMERGING MARKETS INVESTOR: DR NEWS   By Gordon Platt   Bancolombia sold $267 million in ADRs in January in a follow-on offering to its domestic sale of $614 million in preferred shares. The bank said proceeds would go to lending and ...

EMERGING MARKETS INVESTOR: NEWS   By Gordon Platt   Investors dumped money market funds in January and shifted into higher-yielding equity funds, according to EPFR Global.   "The emerging-markets equity funds we track have had their best start in six ...

SA-SWAZILAND RAILWAY LINK (FINALLY) GETS THE GREEN LIGHT   By Antonio Guerrero   Transnet, South Africa's state-owned transit and logistics company, and Swaziland Railway have joined forces to complete a $2.2 billion railway linking their two countries, a plan under ...

E.ON AND MPX ENERGIA PARTNER ON POWER PLANTS   By Antonio Guerrero   E.ON, the German power utility, is partnering with MPX Energia, a power company controlled by Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista, to launch a joint venture to build Brazil's largest ...

SHANGHAI TO EXPAND ITS POSITION AS A FINANCE HUB   By Thomas Clouse   China will greatly expand financial activity in Shanghai in coming years, according to a plan released on January 30 by the National Development and Reform Committee.   ...

CHINESE BANKS TO REFINANCE INDIAN CORPORATE LOANS   By Aaron Chaze   Three major Chinese banks were central to one of India's largest-ever corporate refinancings of foreign currency debt.   Reliance Communications, India's second-largest cellular operator, controlled by billionaire Anil Ambani, successfully raised US$1.18 ...

SAUDI ARABIAN BOURSE ALLOWS FOREIGN CROSS-LISTINGS   By Gordon Platt   The Saudi Arabian stock exchange, known as the Tadawul, has taken a major step toward becoming a regional exchange.   Islamic bloc wins control in Kuwaiti parliament The Capital ...

GROWING POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY HITS RATINGS OUTLOOK   By Kim Iskyan   In mid-January, ratings agency Fitch cut its outlook on Russia from positive to stable, citing increased domestic political uncertainty and potential damage to the Russian economy from deterioration in ...

EXPANDING PRODUCT LINES AT ZAMBEEF   By Gordon Platt   Zambeef Products of Zambia is one of the largest agribusinesses in Africa, with more than 4,000 employees. In June 2011, it became the first Zambian company to list on the London ...

SEEKING OUT VULNERABILITIES   By Vanessa Drucker   Global Finance sat down with James Rickards, senior managing partner at boutique alternative investment firm Tangent Capital Partners and author of Currency Wars: The Making Of The Next Global Crisis .   ...

LAND OF OPPORTUNITIES   By Dan Keeler   The improving economic and investment environment makes Angola a tempting target for foreign direct investors. But changes aimed at improving the business environment and building infrastructure must move forward before the country ...

TURNING POINT   By Michael Shari   One of Africa's most vibrant economies is in the midst of a high-stakes political transition that will determine whether it continues on a path of reform or contends with the type of backlash that shook ...

PLUGGING THE HOLE   By Vanessa Drucker   Although rival political parties in the UK agree on the need for austerity, debate rages on over the timeline and severity.   There is little controversy among politicians or economists in the UK ...

MILESTONES: BANGLADESH   By Udayan Gupta   Bangladesh is one of the more intriguing frontier market economies for foreign investors. In 2011 its GDP rose an estimated 6.3%. But a volatile political environment and an economy that is not immune to ...

MILESTONES: CHINA/INDIA   By Erik Heinrich   China and India are in the midst of a skyscraper building boom that is radically transforming the skylines of its biggest cities and raising hubris to new heights.   At present China is ...

MILESTONES: INDIA   By Valentina Pasquali   It's been rough going for India's airline industry recently.   Photo Credit: CHRISTOPHER PARYPA / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM High fuel prices, the global economic downturn and cutthroat competition for the domestic market have burdened carriers ...

MILESTONES: UNITED STATES   By Valentina Pasquali   Struggling with a sagging real estate market and a weak economic recovery, the US has been revamping its efforts to attract foreign investors. For example, the current administration is pumping new life into ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS: CORPORATE DEBT   By Gordon Platt   Easing monetary conditions and economic stabilization have increased demand for higher-risk assets, despite worries about Europe's debt.   The Federal Reserve has pledged that the federal funds rate will remain ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS: GLOBAL EQUITY / DRS   By Gordon Platt   The US market for initial public offerings is off to a strong start in 2012, with anticipation building ahead of the expected $5 billion Facebook IPO, which will ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS: FOREIGN EXCHANGE By Gordon Platt The euro's surprising rise early this year, even as the European Central Bank flooded the market with liquidity, caught many market participants by surprise. Net short positions in the euro hit a ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS: MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS   By Gordon Platt   Mining company Xstrata's merger with commodities dealer Glencore may not go ahead unless the terms are improved for shareholders. The $90 billion deal, billed as a "merger of equals," is ...

NEWSMAKERS: ITALY   By Laurence Neville   While many big wigs in the world of finance hit the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in late January to rub shoulders with glamorous attendees from business, politics and showbiz—this year led ...

NEWSMAKERS: UNITED STATES   By Valentina Pasquali   When social-networking giant Facebook filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in February to raise $5 billion in one of the most anticipated initial public offerings of recent times, the talk ...

NEWSMAKERS: BRAZIL   By Antonio Guerrero   Graças Foster, 58, was appointed CEO of Brazil's Petrobras state-controlled oil company in February, becoming the first woman ever to head one of the world's top oil operations.   Foster was nominated by ...

NEWSMAKERS: TAIWAN   By Thomas Clouse   Ma Ying-jeou will serve a second term as president of Taiwan after winning 51.6% of the vote in the January election, defeating his closest competitor, Tsai Ing-wen, by less than six percentage points. ...