CEEMEA
Off the Record: Banks in Russia – Shaken, not Stirred
The recent perturbations across EM assets, the looming shadow of current and potential new sanctions and subdued growth at home have taken a toll on the Russian financial sector. But prudent fiscal and monetary policies and timely actions to minimize sanctions impact have helped shelter banks operating in Russia and the CIS from serious damage, DCM bankers and corporate chiefs have told Bonds &…
27 Sept 2018
How Serbia Improved its Fiscal Position and Catalysed the Local Capital Markets
Branko Drcelic, Director of the Public Debt Administration at the Ministry of Finance, Serbia sat down with Bonds & Loans to discuss how the country moved from chronic deficits to a healthy surplus, catalysing a local currency debt capital market in the process.
28 Aug 2018
Russia Seeks to Mobilize Internal Reserves Amid Dollar Liquidity Shortage
The Russian Central Bank tentatively confirmed that the banking sector is experiencing a dollar liquidity deficit. In an apparent push to de-dollarize the economy, it may for now resist from intervening, hoping to encourage more local currency borrowing. But inaction could pile additional pressure on the rouble in coming months.
15 Aug 2018
Corporate Borrowers in India: Stuck Between a Thin Bond Market and Tightening Banks
Corporate borrowing in India is set to get a lot more challenging as investors search for higher coupons and banks tighten up their lending practices following a build-up of non-performing loans, according to analysts. It is unclear whether even the country’s largest corporates are immune to the sandwiching of rising interest rates and a banking sector in flux.
19 Jul 2018
EM Bond Outlook: Better 2H 2018 Expected
It has been a tough start to the year for emerging market bonds, but things are looking up as we head into 2H 2018 – you just need to know where to look.
12 Jul 2018
GCC Bonds: Is the Worst Behind Us?
In line with our expectations at the beginning of the year, YTD total return on Barclays Bloomberg GCC index has been a loss of 2.67%, almost entirely attributed to the increase in benchmark UST yields.
9 Jul 2018
Interview: MTS Blockchain Bond Could Lead to “Faster, Transparent and More Secure Transactions”
The Russian telecoms giant became a trailblazer in issuing distributed ledger fixed-income instruments this spring with the private placement of a RUB750mn commercial bond using blockchain-embedded smart contracts. Alexander Smirnov, Head of Corporate Finance and Treasury, Mobile TeleSystems PJSC, explains how the company worked with Russia’s National Settlement Depositary and Sberbank to achieve…
27 Jun 2018
Governance, Transparency Concerns Holding Institutionals Back from Nigeria’s Corporate Bonds
Corruption, corporate governance and transparency is a perennial concern among emerging market fixed income investors, with the lack of clear governance structures and opaque financials frequently causing headaches for credit analysts and their compliance teams.
20 Jun 2018
Sanctions Unsanctioned: Russia Becomes EM’s Riskiest Safe Haven
By late 2017, to the surprise of naysayers, the Russian economy appeared to have successfully navigated a challenging sanctions-riddled period and by Q1 2018 was looking to be one of the better EM stories on the market. But the latest escalation in tensions with Washington, along with broader EM outflows, have seen the country’s issuance pipeline dry up even as economic fundamentals remain…
13 Jun 2018
CASE STUDY: Belarus Eurobond Prices Inside Better Credits, Opens CIS to Global Markets
Following up on its recent “double bill” international bond, the former Soviet republic hit the market again at a tough time, but the notes proved popular with international investors and saw some of the highest oversubscription levels in the sovereign space over the past year.
29 May 2018