Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

Capital Markets | Fixed Income
US companies are rushing to borrow in European bond markets. They’re taking advantage of low interest rates on euro-denominated issues after the European Central Bank’s decision to start buying investment-grade corporate bonds in June—part of its economic stimulus program. Last year already set a record for corporate borrowing in Europe’s bond markets, where rates are significantly lower than in the US.

Capital Markets | Sovereign Risk
Low energy and commodity prices and a global economy stuck in low gear have provoked a surge in sovereign ratings downgrades in the first three months of this year. And rating agencies anticipate another wave of downgrades if a wider global economic slowdown materializes.

Trade finance is behind some other banking sectors in transitioning to paperless documents and digital distribution, but it’s catching up.

Corporates today need more agility to meet regulatory requirements and manage volatility, hence technology plays a growing role in treasury departments.

In April the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) commemorated a quarter-century of history, with president Suma Chakrabarti emphasizing how far the Bank had come since its first investment—to WBK Bank in Poland (now Bank Zachodni WBK).

Bank of China, the fourth-largest bank in the world, has been an ener-getic leader in expanding overseas. In an interview with Global Finance, Chen Siqing, the bank’s president, spoke about internationalization efforts and the importance of overseas growth. 

Following a record-breaking year for worldwide mergers and acquisitions, dealmaking declined to a two-year low in the first quarter of 2016.

It’s been a long time coming, but Argentina is finally back. In mid-April, after being frozen out of global capital markets for 15 years, the country sold $16.5 billion of debt in an offering that was more than four times oversubscribed—the biggest bond ever sold in an emerging market.

India’s “Make in India” campaign has begun to pay dividends in the defense sector—a field where sharing of technology, processes and patented know-how by global giants does not happen easily.

If the Brits leave the Eurozone, it will have major repercussions for companies doing business in the UK. So why aren’t non-Brits paying more attention? Global Finance lays out the Brexit consequences for international corporations and for global commerce.

Zambia offers a range of advantages and opportunities for foreign investors, but they may want to wait awhile until some risks play out.

Management | CFO's
A recent report by global consulting firm KPMG was titled, Introducing the Renaissance CFO.

The best banks see falling stock prices as an opportunity to finance takeovers with debt and sell bank equity to please regulators.

Management | Technology and Change
In the not-so-distant future, they believe, the corporate world will look very different than it does now.

Capital Markets | Fixed Income
The European Central Bank pushed its deposit rate deeper into negative territory in March, even as commercial bankers cautioned that such an unorthodox move could undermine their profitability and disrupt their role as financial intermediaries while doing little to boost lending or the economy.

Capital Markets | Fixed Income
China’s $7.4 trillion onshore bond market, the third-largest in the world, is opening to foreign institutional investors in the latest step by China to integrate its capital markets into the global financial system.

The junk market is hurting. Experts predict the pain will continue, with defaults peaking a couple of years from now.

Capital Markets | Mergers & Acquisitions
In an effort to boost the country’s sagging economic growth, China is consolidating key industries, hoping to make them more efficient ahead of eventual partial privatizations.

Capital Markets | Equity Offering
A potential partial privatization of Saudi Arabia’s state oil company, Saudi Aramco, would require the company to remove its veil of secrecy.

Trends | Peace Deals
Low oil prices are widening Colombia’s current-account deficit, dampening the confidence of foreign investors and dragging down the economy.