November 2006

Capital markets are playing a growing role in development and global economic integration. When Emaar the Economic City held its initial public offering in Saudi Arabia in July, a record 10 million Saudis, or approximately half the national population, subscribed ...

Gordon PlattAs more countries mature and enter the global market, the balance of economic and political power is changing. Businesses will have to stay on their toes to prosper. After undergoing a decade of dramatic change, the world’s economy looks ...

Capital markets are playing a growing role in development and global economic integration. When Emaar the Economic City held its initial public offering in Saudi Arabia in July, a record 10 million Saudis, or approximately half the national population, subscribed ...

Gordon PlattAs more countries mature and enter the global market, the balance of economic and political power is changing. Businesses will have to stay on their toes to prosper. After undergoing a decade of dramatic change, the world’s economy looks ...

SECTOR REPORT/ SECURITIES LENDING Hedge funds are driving rapid growth in demand for securities lending in global markets. Van Grinsven: Asian market is growing The business of lending securities is expanding rapidly, as hedge funds and investment firms seek to ...

RUSSIA The gangland-style murder in September of Andrei Kozlov, number two at Russia’s central bank and a widely respected banking sector reformer, cast a shadow of doubt on how much really has changed in Russia’s banking sector since the wild ...

INDIA Data released by the Indian government’s Central Statistical Organization (CSO) show that the Indian economy grew by 8.9% in the April-June 2006 quarter. A large portion of this strong growth has come from the manufacturing sector, which grew by ...

COMPANY TO WATCH: BYD/CHINA BYD, China’s largest producer of rechargeable batteries, is well on the road to becoming a major car manufacturer. The company sold 30,700 automobiles in the six months ended June 30, an increase of 585% from the ...

CHINA Henry Paulson with China’s president Hu Jintao China’s Communist Party is shaking up its leadership in the country’s financial hub. Shanghai party chief Chen Liangyu was removed from office in September and may face criminal charges as part of ...

NEWS The International Finance Corporation has awarded a $500,000 grant to be split by two teams of companies to study environmental, social and corporate governance data for emerging market investors. The first group comprises Crisil, Standard & Poor’s and KLD ...

BRAZIL The Brazilian government continued to tap global markets, despite questions regarding the outcome of the nation's presidential elections, as investor appetite remained high. The sovereign tapped international markets on October 5, even before the second-round vote, with an additional ...

DR NEWS Russian steelmaker Severstal, jilted in its white-knight approach to save Arcelor from a hostile takeover by Mittal Steel, is planning to list on the London Stock Exchange to raise capital to play a major role in the ongoing ...

BANGLADESH/NORWAY Yunus developed Microcredit while working as an economist in Bangladesh Norway’s Nobel Institute broke with tradition in October when, for the first time ever, it awarded its coveted Nobel Peace Prize to a banker and a financial institution. Grameen ...

KYRGYZ REPUBLIC Mikhail Nadel, AUB chairman The mentally disabled children of the Belovodsky psychoneurological boarding institution got new shoes and enjoyed fresh fruits and vegetables on the table for almost a month this summer, thanks to the generosity of AsiaUniversalBank, ...

The Microcredit loan mechanism works by providing very small loans that are repayable in weekly installments spread over a year. Eligibility for a subsequent loan is dependent upon repayment of the first loan. Bank branches are set up with a ...

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC The Dominican Republic’s beaches are helping to drive tourism growth Strong economic growth and responsible fiscal policies have helped the Dominican Republic join the ranks of the rising stars in Latin America. So far this year two ratings ...

GLOBAL EQUITY/DRS Aer Lingus, Ireland’s state airline, bucked worries over high fuel prices and potential terrorist threats to post an 8% gain in its first day of trading on the London Stock Exchange on October 2. It was the first ...

CORPORATE DEBT The rapid growth in global credit derivatives is putting stress on settlement systems and operational controls, despite significant progress in clearing a big backlog of unconfirmed trades, according to market participants, a rating agency and regulators. Credit derivatives ...

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS A three-way merger between two Russian aluminum producers, Rusal and Sual, and the alumina assets of Swiss-based commodities trader Glencore International will create the world’s largest aluminum and alumina producer, toppling Alcoa of the United States from ...

FOREIGN EXCHANGE The dollar strengthened despite slower job growth in the US in September, but prospects of a worsening economic slump in the months ahead could expose the greenback to a sudden decline, analysts say. The impact of the collapsing ...

MEXICO President-elect Filipe Calderón When Mexico’s Electoral Tribunal in September declared Felipe Calderón the official winner of the nation’s hotly contested presidential election, it appeared that it would be smooth sailing until his December 1 inauguration. Instead, it seems Calderón’s ...

RUSSIA Pumpyansky: Rattling investors The world’s third-largest oil and gas pipe producer Trubnaya Metallurgicheskaya Kompaniya (TMK) is heading to market in London and Moscow in November with a price tag of up to $4 billion. But the deal will be ...