MIDDLE EAST & TURKEY
Qatar will invest up to US$13bn in major infrastructure projects next year despite a slump in revenues resulting from low energy prices, the Gulf state’s finance minister said on Tuesday. Ali Shareef Al Emadi predicted growth of 3.4% in 2017, in line with the IMF estimates and up from a projected 3.2% this year. Most of the investment will go towards construction and transport as the country gears up to host the 2022 World Cup.
AFRICA
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has closed a US$872mn multi-tranche dual-currency syndicated term loan facility with 26 banks. The transaction includes a US$316mn Tranche A1 and a €105mn Tranche B, each with a two-year tenor, and a US$445mn Tranche A2 with a tenor of three years, with margins set at 130 and 150bp respectively - the lowest rates that the bank secured on a syndicated loan to date.
Nigeria plans to sell NGN95bn (US$302mn) worth of bonds on December 14, Debt Management Office (DMO) said on Tuesday. The DMO said it would sell NGN35bn of notes maturing in 2036, NGN25bn maturing in 2026 and a further NGN35bn of debt maturing in 2021, using the Dutch auction system. The government is also in discussions with Standard Chartered, Citi and Nigerian bank Stanbic IBTC banks to help underwrite the country’s first international bond sale since 2013, which, according to Nigeria’s vice-president, would take place in the first quarter of 2017.
Ghana is to receive an JPY11bn loan for the construction of a new 540-meter long cable-stay steel bridge across the Volta River. The loan, which is being granted under the Special Term for Economic Partnership, offers an interest rate of just 0.10% per annum and is expected to be repaid after 40 years.
South Africa's economy registered slight growth in Q3 of 2016 as the manufacturing sector contracted sharply. GDP expanded by only 0.2% in the period between July to September compared with a revised 3.5% in the second quarter, Statistics South Africa said on Tuesday. Last Friday S&P Global Ratings kept South Africa's sovereign debt score unchanged on the lowest investment level with a negative outlook, but cut the country's local debt rating to match the sovereign.
AMERICAS
BHP Billiton on Monday won the contest to partner with Mexican state oil company Pemex in a joint venture to develop a deep-water field in the country's untapped Gulf waters. BHP outbid Britain's BP, the only other auction participant, with a US$624mn offer to complement its royalty bid.
Brazil's BNDES bank confirmed it will finance up to 40% of Brazil's next airport concessions, involving an estimated BRL6.61bn (US$1.9bn) in total investments. The state bank will provide loan for up to 15 years at a rate of 150bp over the TJLP long-term lending rate, plus an extra spread based on the credit risk of the borrower.
Chile's economy contracted for the first time in seven years in annual terms, as manufacturing and mining activity fell, potentially paving the way for the Central Bank to cut interest rates in order to promote growth. Economic activity fell 0.4% in October from the year-earlier month for the first time since October 2009, the Central Bank data showed on Monday.
ASIA
India’s government has rejected a US$29bn declaration of income from a Mumbai-based family of four. The family declared INR2tn as part of the government program offering amnesty on undisclosed income, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement on Sunday. The declaration was rejected because it was deemed it to come from “persons of suspicious nature and very small means and the declarations could have been misused”.
China and Egypt on Tuesday concluded an CHY18bn (US$2.62bn) three-year bilateral currency swap, a move that importers and economists said would facilitate trade and improve foreign currency liquidity in cash-strapped Egypt. Egypt's Central Bank, which signed the deal with the People's Bank of China, said the arrangement could be extended by mutual consent.
RUSSIA, CIS & EUROPE
Hungary’s industrial output dropped for a second straight month, falling 2.1% in October from a year ago, the statistics office reported on Tuesday. While the country’s GDP rose 2.2% in the third quarter from a year earlier, up on the expected 2%, doubts remain about the growth target as retail figures also below the expected level. Hungary's calendar-adjusted retail sales rose by an annual 2.6% in October, half the 5.1% year-on-year increase seen in September
Japan and Russia will create a ¥100bn (US$900mn) fund to jointly invest in development projects in Russia, as the two countries seek to promote economic and diplomatic ties. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) will each contribute roughly half of the total amount and plan to launch the fund in 2017, according to local media reports in both countries, with the cash expected to go towards projects in medicine, urban development and involve upgrades to manufacturing facilities.
