Currencies
China's Corporates Are Getting a Taste for Dollar Bonds
A weak dollar and stifling policies at home are making the Chinese corporate sector look increasingly towards dollar funding in 2017.
19 May 2017
Africa Credit Markets Brief
AfDB calls for investment across Africa to close annual US$162bn funding gap – Kenya borrows US$1bn via syndicated loan – Nigeria raises mere NGN100bn in bond sale – Nigeria looking to secure US$5.2bn World Back funding package – Zimbabwe warns South Africa over proposed land reform – Russia’s Rosatom committed to nuclear plant project in South Africa – Senegal issues Eurobond – Saudi Aramco…
17 May 2017
Middle East Credit Markets Brief
Saudi Arabia loses market share in the oil sector – Saudi Electricity Co. in talks over sukuk – ACWA makes landmark 22-year trade – Etihad bonds drop on Alitalia news – UAE bankruptcy laws to improve operating environment – Dana Gas in debt restructuring talks – ADCB plans new issue – QNB hits the market, plans to make inroads in KSA – Bahrain feels FX strain – Oman in US$3.6bn loan talks – OETC…
12 May 2017
After Scandal, Economic Slowdown, Malaysia Finally on the Recovery Path
For a country facing several years of economic pressure, Malaysia showed tremendous discipline in eliminating fiscal imbalances and managing the country’s volatile currency. But for Prime Minister Najib Razak, once a focal point of a massive scandal involving state-run wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), winning back the country’s hard earned reputation and credibility will be difficult…
10 May 2017
Can Chile Get its Groove Back?
For more than three decades, Chile was the poster child of neo-liberalism, the country that followed diligently the IMF playbook. Such discipline was rewarded with impressive growth and the envy of its Latin American peers. By 2010, pundits predicted that Chile was but a few years shy of becoming Latin America’s first “developed” nation. The latest down-cycle, marked by both low copper prices and…
25 Apr 2017
Czech, Please? Speculators Hesitate as De-Capped Koruna Rally Falters
Strong signalling and early exit from the currency cap allowed the Czech Central Bank to avoid FX volatility, but currency traders were left in limbo as a Swiss-style post-flotation appreciation failed to materialise.
25 Apr 2017
As Chilean Economy Cools, Corporates Target Hedging
Managing the financing strategy for any company, whether a large multinational or small start-up, is challenging during the best of times, and when an economy slumps, most CFOs will tell you that how you come out during an upturn largely depends on how you position yourself before the downturn.
19 Apr 2017
Low Oil Price is Testing GCC Commitment to Currency Pegs
Low oil prices and a strong dollar are putting pressure on GCC currencies, forcing the Gulf countries to continue with painful fiscal consolidation. But, analysts expect the region to stick to its policy of pegging against the dollar – for now.
11 Apr 2017
Rising Commodity Prices Give Emerging Markets Much Needed Boost
We believe the Fed is on track to hike at least three times this year. Yet EM currencies were mostly firmer in Q1, despite Fed tightening typically being very disruptive to EM. Why? The US dollar lost some traction as markets pushed out Fed tightening beyond March and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin seemed to push out fiscal stimulus into 2018. Rising commodity prices also helped buoy EM.
10 Apr 2017
Making Cents Out of Dollar Strength: The Effect on Emerging Markets
In the aftermath of the financial crisis, the US largely benefited from having a strong dollar on its path to recovery. Ten years later, however, the same currency’s value is so distorted that it may well be enough to strangle its economy.
7 Apr 2017