So far, data on the spread of COVID19 in Latin America suggests the worst is yet to come, and the full economic impact on growth will be significant. But the measures already taken – and those being prepared – by governments in the region should soften the blow, a Scotiabank report suggests.
30 Mar 2020
The African Development Bank (AfDB) raised USD3bn through the sale of social sustainability bonds in an effort to finance Africa-based initiatives to combat the spread of COVID-19.
30 Mar 2020
The three highest-rated Nigerian banks – Zenith, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), and United Bank for Africa (UBA) have been downgraded by Fitch.
30 Mar 2020
Tentative signs of an impending recovery as factories reopen should not overshadow the reality that COVID-19’s impact on the Chinese economy will far exceed that of SARS or the global financial crisis, IIF warns.
27 Mar 2020
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday unveiled a series of new measures aimed at relieving some of the pressure on India’s credit markets – which have been rattled by a series of defaults and near-misses in recent weeks.
27 Mar 2020
With the US likely to fall into a recession combined with widespread social disruption caused by the lockdown, Trump’s re-election this November appears uncertain. Far from soothing tensions between the US and China, the pandemic has heightened them.
27 Mar 2020
The Russian government introduced sweeping changes to the tax regime in order to support businesses and SMEs, while seeking to secure additional revenue streams elsewhere. But while the country’s ample FX reserves should see it fare better than many EM peers, its banking sector – subject to a massive and prolonged consolidation over the past five years – is also feeling the squeeze.
27 Mar 2020
The IMF has agreed to lend Somalia SDR292.4mn (approx. USD395.5mn) as part of a three-year Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) in a significant boost to the war-torn country’s reform efforts.
26 Mar 2020
The World Bank has approved a USD500mn loan to Ethiopia, in order to support the government’s ‘Homegrown Reform Agenda’, underpinned by the Second Ethiopia Growth and Competitiveness Development Policy Operation (DPO).
26 Mar 2020
Promise of unlimited monetary stimulus and signs of a tentative USD2tn stimulus package in the US Senate offered some much-needed comfort to global markets, with EMs receiving an additional boost from their governments through promises of additional fiscal stimulus and quantitative easing.
26 Mar 2020