Brazil’s airports – a job for the brave
February 6, 2012 – the day that Brazil turned its back on decades of state capitalism and privatised three of its biggest airports. Or did it?
Invepar, the Brazilian fund that will control 90 per cent of the 20-year concession for São Paulo’s Guarulhos international airport, is actually controlled by state-run pension funds (Petrobras and Banco do Brasil’s). Continue reading »
Argentina clobbers ‘big oil’
As usual, Argentina has a ready explanation.
But the timing of the government’s decision to scrap an incentives plan to encourage big oil companies to produce and refine more, coming as it does amid the revival of YPF nationalisation talk, looks like a punishment, or at least a government flexing its muscles and keen to show who is boss. Continue reading »
The future looks bright for the Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF), the Latin American development bank.
Not only have the CAF’s lending operations almost doubled in the last five years to over $15bn, but the bank’s president, Enrique García, expects them to double again over the next five years. Continue reading »
Russia: risk-on for foreign investors
After a dismal year-end, Russian equities have turned a corner in 2012. A 20-per-cent increase in Moscow’s RTS Index has drawn international investors back into the market: Russia-focused mutual funds recorded $237m in inflows in the seven days to February 1 — the highest weekly volume of inflows since April 2011. Including Russia-oriented money in broader funds, the total is $414m, also the highest since last April. Continue reading »
Poland: freeze boosts consumption as generators mull modernisation
The freezing temperatures that have gripped Poland over the last couple of weeks have sent electricity demand to new records – breaking through 25GW several times towards the ends of last week.
It’s a timely – if uncomfortable – reminder of the hugely expensive task the country faces in upgrading its electricity infrastructure. Continue reading »
Bakrie: a roaring football investment
Photo: Football Federation Australia
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world… as the Bakrie group and Nat Rothschild fight over the future of coal-miner Bumi, the Indonesian congolmerate has snapped up the remaining 30 per cent it didn’t own in Australian football champions, the Brisbane Roar. Continue reading »
Turkey turns to coal and nuclear power
Much of Europe may be moving towards cleaner power but in Turkey it is a different story.
EUAS, the country’s state-owned electricity company, was due on Monday to sign a memorandum of understanding with two South Korean groups on a $2bn coal fired power plant. It is also moving ahead with plans for two nuclear plants. Continue reading »
Russia: pre-poll inflation at new low
How’s this for a nice set of pre-election numbers? Russia’s Federal Statistics Service reported on Monday that inflation fell last month to 4.2 per cent – a new post-Soviet low and well down on December’s 6.1 per cent.
It couldn’t be better for prime minister Vladimir Putin as he campaigns to return to the Kremlin in next month’s presidential election. While growth matters in the Russian economy, for poorer voters inflation matters even more, particularly those trying to get by on state salaries and pensions. Continue reading »
Blindfold metrics: EMs v the world
A puzzle to begin the week, courtesy of some creative work by analysts at Morgan Stanley.
Conan Carr and colleagues compare stocks in four regions – Europe, the US, Japan and emerging markets – using standardised accounting, valuation and growth metrics. The twist? They disguise the identity of each region, challenging you to figure out which is which. “We expect that like us, some of your preconceptions will be challenged along the way,” they say. Let’s see. Continue reading »
S Africa: clouds over miners’ gala
As executives and bankers gather in Cape Town to participate in the annual Mining Indaba, southern Africa’s premier conference for the industry, a good dose of the backroom chatter is likely to centre around the direction of policy in the host country.
For well over year the mining sector in South Africa – the world’s fifth-largest minerals producer by value – has been under a cloud of uncertainty as a debate has raged about the nationalisation of mines. The discussions have been spurred on by Julius Malema, the suspended youth leader of the ruling African National Congress party. Continue reading »
India: chipping away at free speech
Opponents of free speech in India racked up another victory on Monday when Google acknowledged that it had removed “objectionable” material from its Indian web sites in response to a court order.
The censorship was related to an ongoing case brought against Google, Facebook, Yahoo and other websites after telecommunications minister Kapil Sibal (left) had met with representatives of the sites to discuss the pre-emptive removal of what the government deemed “objectionable” material. That included blasphemous material and also, reportedly, sites that criticised, among other things, the leader of Sibal’s Congress Party, Sonia Gandhi. Continue reading »
[Update] Romania: Basescu rolls the dice
Romania’s prime minister Emil Boc resigned on Monday, becoming the latest European Union political leader to fall victim to economic crisis – and the first in eastern Europe.
But although the news came as a surprise it brought remarkably little market reaction, with the leu holding steady and Romanian stocks falling only 1.7 per cent.
So, Boc may look like a leader hurriedly abandoning office in the face of public protest. But his departure could well turn out to be a desperate political manoeuvre orchestrated by his chief backer, president Traian Basescu (pictured). Continue reading »
Vietnam state companies: stay core
Vietnam’s Communist rulers have finally accepted, at least rhetorically, the need to restructure the large, inefficient state-owned enterprises (SOEs) that many economists believe are largely to blame for recent economic turbulence.
Now there are tentative signs that the government may be starting to walk the talk, trying to ensure that SOEs stop wasteful spending on karaoke bars, taxi companies and grandiose building projects. Continue reading »
New York headlines
* Indonesia GDP hits 6.5% in fourth quarter
* China bars airlines from EU tax plan
* India: Facebook, Google remove content after court warning
* China tackles public skepticism over euro bailout Continue reading »
Snap: EFG-Hermes chief travel ban
Yasser El-Mallawany, chief executive of EFG-Hermes, has been prevented from leaving Egypt. According to Reuters, the head of Egypt’s largest investment bank learned of his travel ban while trying to fly to the UAE.
Shares in the group fell more than 5 per cent in trading in Egypt on Monday, sparking an automatic suspension of trading. Shares fell 63 per cent in 2011. EFG has not released any comment further than an RNS statement confirming the travel ban.
| About this blog | Headlines email | Blog guide |
| Regulars | Series | Archive |
Older entries
Stefan Wagstyl
Josh Noble
Rob Minto
Pan Kwan Yuk
Jonathan Wheatley
Heba Saleh