September 2007

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE   The EU’s newest members struggle to balance growth with stability.   Prague's stock exchange is one of many in the region that are attracting foreign investors. Despite recent political maneuverings by Russian president Vladimir Putin, ...

EU ACCESSION HOPEFULS Preparing their economies for entry to the European Union is yielding dramatic results for accession candidates and providing inspiration for those that aspire to follow them.   Kiev: Banking market set for sharp growth. While EU accession ...

MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT FINANCE The recent downturn in the credit cycle has hit media industry restructuring, but Hollywood is attracting investors for new film financing deals.     The boom in leveraged buyouts in the media industry hit a brick ...

INSIGHT / CARBON OFFSETTING Carbon emissions reduction is an increasingly important aspect of any global corporation’s operations. But working on reductions and investing wisely in offset projects is a critical element of that.     Companies are increasingly looking to ...

SECTOR REPORT / GLOBAL CUSTODY & INVESTORS’ SERVICES Global custodians and asset servicers face increasing competition and a more complex landscape than ever before. In order to survive, they must continue to invest in new products and staff, build infrastructure ...

INTERNET BANKING Over the past two decades, Internet banking has gone from non-existent to ubiquitous. As this year’s Global Finance Internet Banks Awards show, many of the pioneers are still dominant forces, driving the market forward.     Banks have ...

Company to watch: china boqi environmental solutions technology / china     Based in Beijing, one of the world’s most polluted cities, China Boqi Environmental Solutions Technology has plenty of work to do. “Environmental protection is a big task as ...

China     Cost concerns: Rising food prices are fueling inflation. Investors anxious about overheating in the Chinese market had more cause for concern this month as China’s National Bureau of Statistics revealed that consumer prices rose by 5.6%, year ...

Brazil     Brazil’s strong capital markets recovery and IPO blitz has prompted international investment banks to put the country back on their radars. Lehman Brothers, which exited Brazil in 2003 amid a near market collapse, has reopened its São ...

News     Institutional investors are showing a marked preference for developed market equities over emerging market shares as they rein in risk in their portfolios in response to recent market volatility, according to a research report by State Street ...

Russia     Friends in high places: Deripaska (right) and Putin. French oil firm Total unexpectedly signed a deal in mid-July with Kremlin-controlled gas giant Gazprom to help develop the massive Shtokman natural gas field. The Russian government had earlier ...

India     On track: Delhis new subway trains. The metro railway authority in New Delhi placed a record order for 340 subway coaches with Bombardier Transportation, Montreal-based Bombardier’s Indian subsidiary. Worth $590 million, the order is the largest ever ...

Dr news     American and global depositary receipt trading was easily at an all-time high in the first half of 2007 and was higher than every full-year total since 2006, according to The Bank of New York Mellon. The ...

Welcome to Global Finance’s annual Treasury & Cash Management Guide, in which we explore the latest trends and issues in the world of global cash management...

CORPORATE ID MANAGEMENT As corporate treasury systems become increasingly automated, businesses and their banking partners are devising innovative techniques to ensure only authorized personnel can make payments.   Wendel: In approximately 25% of cases, account signatories are wrong. Hans-Maarten van ...

EXCHANGE CHANGE ONLINE FOREIGN EXCHANGE   Key players in the online foreign exchange markets are hoping that new entrants and the integration of interdealer and dealer-to-client platforms will end the stagnation that is hindering workflow development.     Theodorou: Many ...

GLOBAL LIQUIDITY Corporates have long dreamt of being able to see liquidity in real time on a global basis. This dream is becoming a reality as banks and systems suppliers provide the real-time reporting and systems integration necessary to make ...

“WHO’S WHO” IN TREASURY AND CASH MANAGEMENT TREASURY & CASH MANAGEMENT 2007     Anne Boden Head, Transaction Banking, Europe ABN AMRO Anne Boden manages ABN AMRO Transaction Banking across Europe. She is also responsible for preparing it for future ...

ISRAEL Past wars and threats of future ones just can’t stop Israel’s economic engine plowing ahead.     Past wars and threats of future ones just can't stop Israel's economic engine plowing ahead. During the past year, Israel’s economy grew ...

QATAR     The only way is up: QFC moves to new, gleaming headquarters.   Rich in natural gas, the Gulf nation of Qatar has one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, with increasing demand for financial products and ...

JAPAN     Toyota: Top holding in new ETF.   Tokyo-based Daiwa Asset Management will create an exchange-traded fund based on the newly formed FTSE Shariah Japan 100 index. The ETF, which will be listed on the Singapore Exchange in ...

UNITED KINGDOM / GLOBAL       Brunswick: Banks are responding to threats.   The Internet has become a “playground for criminals,” and it is up to banks and other online service providers to make it safe for consumers to ...

GLOBAL     High aspirations: Islamic finance on the rise. Excess liquidity and the tidal wave of petrodollars flooding into the Middle East are causing a surge of interest in Islamic finance. The growth rate of the industry is now ...

Corporate financing news / global equity/drs     Latin American equity capital markets had their biggest month ever in July, with $9.6 billion in proceeds from 23 issues, an increase of 48% from the previous record of $6.5 billion set ...

Foreign exchange / corporate financing news     The dollar fell to a 15-year low against a basket of currencies in early August as the level of the federal funds futures contract forecast a cut in US interest rates before ...

Corporate debt / corporate financing news     The high-yield bond market in the United States all but shut down for new issues in July, as subprime mortgage losses led to a repricing of corporate credit risk and an end ...

Mergers & acquisitions / corporate financing news     Global announced mergers and acquisitions totaled $550 billion in July, more than double the total for the same month a year earlier, according to Dealogic, but tighter credit conditions threaten to ...

Global     Microfinancing, which provides small collateral-free loans of between $15 and $200 to help people in poverty set up their own businesses, is increasingly taking center stage in the battle to eradicate poverty. At the fifth World Chambers ...

Europe     Stockholm: One of 15 knowledge hubs. With just over two years to go, the European Commission’s Lisbon Agenda initiative to transform Europe into the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010 appears to ...

Argentina       Double act: Nestor Kirchner and the presidential hopeful, Mrs. K. Argentine First Lady and senator Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is poised to replace her husband, President Nestor Kirchner, in the top post in the October 28 ...

United states     Bernanke under pressure as he fends off calls for a rate cut. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke didn’t exactly call out the helicopters and dump bundles of money on Wall Street last month to keep the ...

CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE: CITI     Naveed Sultan is Managing Director, Head of Global Transaction Services in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) The birth of a new currency used by more than 300 million consumers is a remarkable event. Since ...

CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE: JPMORGAN CHASE     Jonathan Heuser is Vice President of Trade Services at JPMorgan Chase. Solely focusing on traditional approaches to cash management can limit a treasurer’s ability to manage working capital in a holistic way. One of ...

CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON       Eric D. Kamback is Executive Vice President and Group Head for Global Payment and Trade Services at The Bank of New York Mellon   For generations, immigrants have sent ...