Policy & Government
RBI Announces New Policy Measures to Aid FIs
This week the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced a new set of policy measures to curb the impact of coronavirus on Indian markets. Suyash Choudhary, Portfolio Manager at IDFC Mutual Fund believes the policy measures announced “will serve to ease financial conditions at the margin.”
20 Apr 2020
Foreign Investors Flock Back into Government Bonds as Russia’s Central Bank Ponders Rate Cut
Though down from the levels seen in early March, the share of foreign investors in Russian sovereign bonds stayed above 30% as juicy yields, calming global markets and a dovish outlook at the CBR attracted foreign buyers.
20 Apr 2020
OPEC Deal will Reduce Uncertainty for Saudi Arabia but Macro Will Pay a Heavy Price – Goldman Sachs
An historic deal between OPEC+ and the G20 last weekend may not be sufficient to lift oil prices materially in the near term given the scale of decline in global demand for oil, according to research from Goldman Sachs.
19 Apr 2020
ASEAN Green Bond Issuance Jumped 50% in 2019
Across ASEAN, 2019 was a big year for green bonds with issuance rising over 50% to reach a total of USD258bn, according to a report from HSBC and the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI). But clear disparities remain between countries, with Singapore increasingly dominating the issuance pipeline.
17 Apr 2020
As Latin America Hunkers Down to Tackle Coronavirus, How Vulnerable is Brazil?
Latin American countries are hunkering down amidst an escalating pandemic, testing the resilience of businesses, banks, and investors, with many observers sharply focused on how one of the region’s largest economies – Brazil – will weather the storm.
16 Apr 2020
“More to be Done” From Kenyan Government to Buoy Economy – Cytonn Investments
Kenya has so far managed to limit the spread of COVID-19, with just 184 cases and 7 deaths reported as of 10 April 2020, and the government has responded with fiscal and monetary measures to buoy the economy. According to Cytonn Investments, the government’s actions need to go further but the government remains constrained by its fiscal deficit.
16 Apr 2020
Asia is Now the Only Region on Course to Record Growth in 2020
Developed markets are predicted to take the biggest hit as the spread of COVID19 and lockdowns designed to contain it continue to lead to downward revisions to growth, but emerging Asia remains a bright spot.
16 Apr 2020
Excessive Dollarization, Concentration of Loans to State-Owned Enterprises Key Risks for Uzbek Lenders as Privatisations Loom
Concerns over excessive dollarization and a high concentration of loans to state-owned enterprises, many of which were offered at preferential rates, could weigh on Uzbekistan’s banking sector and throw privatisations into question in the face of record global market turbulence.
16 Apr 2020
IMF Downgrades Global Growth, Signals ‘Worst Recession Since Great Depression’
The IMF has downgraded its global growth forecast for 2020 by 6.3% in just the span of a few months as lockdowns designed to contain the spread of COVID-19 dampen economic activity and send commodity prices tumbling. The Fund’s Economic Counselor and Research Department Director Gita Gopinath said the impending recession would be the worst since the Great Depression.
15 Apr 2020
ADB Triples COVID-19 Response Funding with USD20bn, Accelerates Disbursements
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said this week that it has tripled the amount of funding it plans to provide to member countries as they seek to contain the human and economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
14 Apr 2020