CFO Insights
Off the Record in Kenya: Private Equity, Banking Consolidation, and a Blossoming FinTech Sector
The last three years have been tough for Kenyan banks and corporates. The introduction of the interest rate cap in 2016 sapped liquidity, leaving many corporates deprived of financing. But the last few years have also seen the blossoming of new liquidity pools including private equity and mobile lenders, which are beginning to claw market share away from banks, according to CFOs and bankers who…
13 Jun 2019
Off the Record: Peru’s Miners See CSR, ESG, Innovation as Key to Unlocking Funding
As Brazil braces for another tailing dam collapse, Miners & Investors talked with Peruvian majors’ CFOs and their investors about the industry’s challenges and opportunities for the year ahead. Majors demonstrated healthy financing positions with low expansion pipelines; juniors, on the other hand, continued to explore alternative financing in a dry equity market. All made mention of social…
12 Jun 2019
CASE STUDY: Almarai’s USD500mn Issue Marks First Corporate International Sukuk out of Saudi
The benchmark-sized international debut sukuk received more than USD5bn worth of orders – a similar level of oversubscription to the recent Saudi Aramco jumbo bond, a tremendous start to the Saudi dairy giant’s new USD2bn Islamic finance programme.
21 May 2019
Buoyant Markets Herald Strong Start for GCC Credits in 2019: Where Next for the Region?
With further bond index inclusion on the horizon and oil prices holding steady, CFOs and Treasurers are optimistic about the GCC region’s credit market prospects. But the accelerated pace at which today’s markets are evolving is reducing long-term visibility and raising questions over the kind of macro and monetary policy environment borrowers and investors are likely to find themselves in going…
16 May 2019
Total Eren: ECAs Key to Argentine Power Funding as Banks Sit Out the Volatility
RenovAr, Argentina’s flagship solar and renewables programme, has struggled in recent months due to the severe macroeconomic challenges weighing on the country. But as the country’s markets stabilise, developers focused on the region remain cautious as upcoming elections later this year could result in a change of direction. We speak with Martin Parodi, Managing Director, Total Eren Argentina,…
14 May 2019
Turkey Looks East for Much-Needed FDI Boost
Asian investors are being sought as natural candidates for a revival of foreign investment in Turkey, according to CFOs, bankers and investors who spoke with Bonds & Loans on a recent research trip to Istanbul. Whether investors in the Far East oblige is another question entirely.
3 May 2019
Scrapped New City Airport, Struggling Pemex Dominate Discussions at HSBC Mexico Roundtable
Mexican borrowers are gradually adjusting to the new market environment that has emerged since the inauguration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and amid broader emerging market volatility driven by the rise in global interest rates. Nevertheless, CFOs at a Breakfast Roundtable hosted by HSBC and Bonds & Loans in Mexico in February have raised important questions about some of the new…
21 Mar 2019
SA Institute of Race Relations CEO: Financial Innovation at the Heart of South Africa’s Turnaround
With a potential credit downgrade in the offing, yawning fiscal gaps to fill, and an election on the horizon, South Africa has found itself at yet another critical junction, forcing government and state-owned companies to weigh short-term wins against long-term objectives. In advance of our Bonds, Loans & Sukuk event in Cape Town in March, we speak with Dr Frans Cronje, CEO of the South African…
8 Mar 2019
Votorantim Energia CFO: Uncertainty Now Punctuates Everyday Decision-Making
Bonds & Loans speaks with Raul Cadena, Chief Financial Officer of Votorantim Energia, about the company’s funding and M&A strategy for 2019, and value creation in Brazil’s growing electricity generation segment.
27 Feb 2019
Vive Energía CEO: Securing Cost-Competitive Funding for Wind still a Challenge in Mexico
Mexico has made significant strides in developing and deploying renewables in recent years, but recent regulatory uncertainty has cast a pall over the sector and may start to weigh on the bankability of transactions. Bonds & Loans speaks with Benny Villareal, Chief Executive Officer at Vive Energía about the company’s corporate funding strategy.
15 Feb 2019