September 2015

In the race to attract foreign direct investment, countries are opening SEZs at a furious rate. Winnowing down the choices requires some serious due diligence.

Table of Contents

Banks are rolling out digital products at a dizzying pace—and in the process, reinventing the industry.

The Country & Regional Winners For The 2015 awards including The World's Best Islamic Digital Banks.

Global Finance explores the tech future of Payments and branding with Deniz Devrim Cengiz, head of digital banking at Türk Ekonomi Bancasi (TEB), (BNP Paribas Turkey)

In an interview with Global Finance, Asit Oberoi, chief operating officer of India’s YES Bank, talks about how banks are countering threats from hackers and cybercriminals.

In a talk with Global Finance, Merav Spektorovsky-Sasson, head of direct banking for Bank Hapoalim, Israel, lays out what banks must do to satisfy online customers.

Mayank Mishra, Citi’s managing director and global head of online banking and connectivity services, describes balancing global digital solutions with the specific needs of corporate clients.

Flush with cash, treasurers are turning to outside firms to oversee some of the money.

Martin Gilbert, chief executive at Aberdeen Asset Management, says diversification and globalization will see an ever-increasing number of businesses turn to outside portfolio managers.

Global Finance talked with Reyer Kooy, head of institutional liquidity management, Europe, EMEA and Asia, for Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management—the top bank in GF’s ranking—about the shift in how companies invest.

Global Salon
At this point, it’s pretty much assumed that hackers are going to break into corporate computer networks. Global Finance talked with Michael Morris, chief Technology Officer of root9B, which offers cybersecurity services to corporate and government entities, about the war on digital attackers—and how businesses can retake some ground.

China’s rattling of sabers may be causing tension in Taiwan, but the country’s currency is on the rise.

A wobbly administration and a plunge in commodities prices have triggered one of the nation’s toughest years in recent memory.

At a lavish ceremony last month, the Egyptian government inaugurated the new Suez Canal, marking an expansion of the original project, which dates to 1869.

When former UBS and Citigroup derivatives trader Thomas Hayes was found guilty last month on all eight charges of conspiracy to manipulate Libor, it was the verdict heard around the world.

Major rating agencies are chasing each other in downgrading Brazil, as the country struggles with recession, a spiraling devaluation of the real and a damaging political crisis.

Tariffs on hundreds of information technology (IT) goods—201, to be precise—will be slashed starting next year as a result of a sweeping agreement in July by member nations of the World Trade Organization.

Against the backdrop of a lackluster economy, Canadian voters will head to the polls on October 19—and it’s no shoe-in for incumbent prime minister Stephen Harper.

Patrick Njoroge was named governor of the Central Bank of Kenya in June, part of a broader change in leadership at the Central Bank, including a new chairman and second deputy governor.

The appointment of former Goldman Sachs executive Michael Evans as president of Alibaba is the latest move in the Chinese conglomerate’s attempts to expand its business beyond its domestic base.

In the midst of a radical overhaul of its operations, Procter & Gamble will undergo a key leadership change in the fall. As of November 1, company insider David Taylor will take over as CEO from A.G. Lafley, who has held the position from 2000 to 2009 and from 2013 to the present.

Companies find switching to digital trade documents saves time and money

Collaboration between banks, factors and insurers is the way forward.

Capital Markets | Foreign Exchange
The executive board of the International Monetary Fund recently held an informal meeting to discuss a staff report that found some deficiencies in the renminbi as a potential reserve currency.

Capital Markets | Mergers & Acquisitions
German auto manufacturers Audi, BMW and Daimler have acquired the Finnish company Nokia’s high-precision digital mapping service Here for €2.8 billion ($3.1 billion).

Trends | Sovereign Funds & Trade
This summer US Congress passed a law giving president Barack Obama the authority to “fast-track” free-trade pacts such as the multinational Trans-Pacific Partnership (or TPP), which covers around 40% of trade in American goods and 60% of trade in Asian goods.

Management | Leadership Challenge
Nearly two out of three chief financial officers worldwide aspire to become chief executives of their company, but relatively few succeed in occupying the corner office.

Capital Markets | Economic Transition
As China makes the transition to a consumer-led economy, it has the potential to generate an incremental $15 trillion in consumer spending over the next decade, according to a report by think tank The Demand Institute.

Trends | Bribery & Corruption
Anti-bribery and corruption enforcement efforts are picking up worldwide, with private firms more  likely to be targeted, while large, state-owned enterprises are getting off easier, according to a report by Moody’s Investors Service.

Capital Markets | Fixed Income
Saudi Arabia has issued its first sovereign bonds since 2007 to help fund a widening budget deficit caused by continued spending amid low oil prices.

Management | Compensation
Gap Accounting: Some five years and 287,000 comments after the pay-ratio disclosure rule was included in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the US Securities and Exchange Commission issued the final regulation in August.

An exclusive ranking of Global Cash 25; the most liquid companies in the world. Coverage of the new regulations for cash management, development in correspondent banking, and Who's Who in TCM.