November 2011

COVER STORY: STAYING AFLOAT   By Laurence Neville   With emerging markets economies just holding their own in the face of the crises in the developed world, they are unlikely to be able to pull the world out of the ...

GO WITH GOLD   By Michael Shari   Runaway gold prices are empowering mining companies to finance themselves—and forcing banks to innovate, providing opportunities for investors that are willing to take on more complex risk.   Kinross Gold has sworn off ...

NEW HORIZONS   By Anita Hawser   Islamic Finance is growing beyond traditional borders to encompass new markets worldwide.   The Islamic finance industry emerged relatively unscathed from the 2008 financial crisis —touting itself as an alternative to the leverage ...

THE JOURNEY BEGINS   By Denise Bedell   Upcoming end-dates for Sepa migration prompt companies to begin planning projects.   Corporates in Europe are facing the inevitability of Sepa compliance in or around 2014—when end-dates for migration from domestic legacy ...

YIN AND YANG   By Thomas Clouse   China continues to sidestep major global economic woes, with its growth rate expected to hover close to 10%. However, the country faces its own unique set of challenges in effectively securing continued ...

By Thomas Clouse BANKS BEST CITY COMMERCIAL Bank of Jiangsu Bank of Jiangsu is reportedly awaiting regulatory approval for its much-anticipated IPO, but the Nanjing-based lender has not let the wait impede its efforts to add innovative products and services. ...

By Thomas Clouse COMPANIES AUTOMOBILES Chery International After years of torrid growth, China’s automobile market slowed significantly this year, with light vehicle sales up only 5% year-on-year in the first eight months, according to figures from J.D. Power. Chery International, ...

AWARDS CEREMONY: LOCATION WASHINGTON DC   Global Finance held its annual best banks awards ceremony at Washington’s National Press Club on September 26.   The event happened during the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank. Over 200 financial ...

PUTIN PRESIDENCY RUN FACES LITTLE OPPOSITION   By Kim Iskyan   Following much speculation on whether current Russian president Dmitry Medvedev or Prime Minister and former president Vladimir Putin would run for president in March 2012, Medvedev announced in late ...

EMERGING MARKETS INVESTOR: DR NEWS   By Gordon Platt   Investors lost money in 85% of the 40 global depositary receipts (GDRs) issued by Indian companies in 2010, according to an analysis by Crisil Research, a credit rating firm majority-owned ...

EMERGING MARKETS INVESTOR: NEWS   By Gordon Platt   Investors are showing increasing interest in emerging markets’ corporate bonds, which offer diversification and better yields, according to a report by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.   The firm held an ...

BOOSTING SME AGRICULTURE INVESTMENT   By Antonio Guerrero   The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has partnered with several non-profit organizations to launch the African Agricultural Capital Fund (AACF).   New fund will stimulate agriculture sector The fund ...

NEW OIL FIELDS TO ATTRACT BIG INVESTMENT   By Antonio Guerrero   Brazilian authorities remain optimistic that they will be able to sign an agreement with Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn Technology, the world’s largest contract electronics producer, for a $12 billion ...

CHINESE FIRMS HEAD FOR GLOBAL EXPANSION   By Thomas Clouse   Several Chinese companies have picked up assets in overseas markets in recent weeks, with energy and raw material industries leading the way.   Tiangong-1 on the launch pad In ...

DECLINING SALES HIT INDIAN AUTO INDUSTRY   By Aaron Chaze   The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has significantly lowered the growth forecast for car sales in the domestic market for fiscal 2012 from between 10% and 12% to ...

DUBAI’S NEW BUSINESS LAW COULD STIMULATE INVESTMENT   By Gordon Platt   A new law governing corporate activity in the UAE should cut red tape for investors and make it easier for companies operating in the emirate’s free zones to ...

ALFA GROUP GROWS THROUGH ACQUISITIONS   By Gordon Platt   Monterrey-based Alfa, one of Mexico’s largest industrial groups, has four business lines, comprising petrochemicals, aluminum auto parts, processed food and telecommunications.   Earlier this year it became the sole shareholder ...

POLITICAL STALEMATE CRIPPLES BOTH US AND EUROPE   By Vanessa Drucker   In the first of a new ongoing series, Global Finance sits down with Jason Trennert, managing partner and chief investment strategist at Strategas Research Partners.   Trennert, Strategas ...

WHO’S WHO   By Gordon Platt   Who’s who in foreign exchange.   MOHAMED EL AROUSSI Arab African International Bank Head of FX desk   Mohamed El Aroussi has been head of the foreign exchange desk at Arab African International ...

CURRENCY WARS   By Gordon Platt   Battle Tactics Change With Global Slowdown.   Chandler, Brown Brothers Harriman: The lingering US and European crises are casting a pall over global capital markets When the global economy seemed securely on track ...

SAME OLD, SAME OLD   By Denise Bedell   The US dollar will remain the world’s reserve currency of choice as long as there is no credible alternative.   There have long been calls for a new currency to take ...

CHINA’S LOFTY AMBITIONS FOR THE RENMINBI   By Gordon Platt   The Chinese government continues to make strides in internationalizing its currency.   Qu, HSBC: Domestic demand should support 8.5% to 9% growth in the coming quarters Every long march ...

DÉJÀ VU ALL OVER AGAIN   Some analysts say that 2011 is beginning to look a lot like 2008, with Europe’s debt crisis morphing into a bank solvency crisis with global ramifications.   So far, the foreign exchange market—the world’s ...

IS THE EURO CRUMBLING?   By Gordon Platt   Major reform is needed, but whether the political will is there to make large scale changes remains to be seen. The alternative may be the end of the eurozone as it ...

SEARCHING FOR BALANCED SOLUTIONS   By Antonio Guerrero   Investors are awaiting the outcome of recent rate cuts in Brazil. Whether it will prove proactive or premature remains to be seen.   Citing a substantial deterioration in the global economy, ...

WAIT AND SEE   By Justin Keay   Lebanon has tumbled from its economic boom in 2010. Investors are holding back to see how the new government fares. So far, its reform progress is less than impressive. But with the ...

MILESTONES: EMERGING MARKETS   By Gordon Platt   Demand for infrastructure in emerging markets will reach $1 trillion annually through 2030, triple the level of the previous two decades, with Asia accounting for the lion’s share, according to a study ...

MILESTONES: PORTUGAL   By Matt Greco   With the government of Portugal announcing one austerity measure after another to meet IMF-imposed budgetary guidelines and as the rating agencies hack away at the credit-worthiness of the country’s financial institutions, new revelations ...

MILESTONES: IRELAND   By Matt Greco   In Ireland each day’s financial developments seem to bring either a positive surprise or a mild disappointment.   Irish four- and eight-year bond sales in September generated the greatest one-day increase in price ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS: CORPORATE DEBT   By Gordon Platt   US government bond yields hit record lows in September, yet investors passed up big yields on corporate HY.   Even as yields on US government bonds fell to record lows ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS: GLOBAL EQUITY/DRS   By Gordon Platt   The global pipeline of planned initial public offerings has grown to record proportions, with 332 companies waiting to issue IPOs valued at a total of $183 billion, according to Renaissance ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS: FOREIGN EXCHANGE   By Gordon Platt   The dollar rose to an eight-month high against the euro in early October, as a further delay of Greek aid and concerns about the health of Europe’s banks gave the ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS: MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS   By Gordon Platt   Nippon Steel, Japan’s largest steelmaker, is acquiring rival Sumitomo Metal Industries to create the world’s second largest steel producer, at a time when global competition in the steel industry ...

NEWSMAKERS: ALBANIA   By Dan Keeler   As most of Europe’s leaders tighten the screws on their battered economies, tiny Albania, one of the continent’s poorest nations, is pushing ahead with an ambitious plan intended to substantially boost foreign direct ...

NEWSMAKERS: CANADA   By Joel Kranc   In late September, the international financial community was abuzz with the news that Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, had publicly chided the head of a central bank over his views; views that ...

NEWSMAKERS: ISRAEL   By David Lipkin   Former French finance minister Christine Lagarde may have secured the top job at the Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF), but some fund insiders are still gunning for Stanley Fischer, governor of the Central ...

NEWSMAKERS: RUSSIA   By Kim Iskyan   Investors have long viewed Russian finance minister Alexei Kudrin as the country’s second-most-important policymaker—and the primary reason for the dramatic turnaround in Russia’s macroeconomic position over the past decade.   Alexei Kudrin refuses ...

NEWSMAKERS: EUROPE   By Anita Hawser   At the press conference that followed the European Central Bank’s Governing Council meeting on October 6 in Berlin, few would have guessed that it was Jean-Claude Trichet’s last meeting as ECB president.   ...

NEWSMAKERS: US/GLOBAL   By Gordon Platt   US regulators moved closer last month to adopting the controversial Volcker Rule, which could force big banks to hold on to some trades for two months and to limit their investments in hedge ...

AWAITING CLARITY   Moderated by Joseph D. Giarraputo   Leading figures in the world of custody and investors’ services discuss how they are helping clients cope with new regulations and take advantage of the opportunities this presents.   Joseph D. ...

COLLABORATION GROWS   Moderated by Anita Hawser   Companies and their banks are working together to develop finance solutions encompassing the entire supply chain.   Anita Hawser: How are current market conditions impacting the development of Supply Chain Finance (SCF)? ...