Daily Archives: Apr 5, 2012

Brazil tourism: forget the gringos

Apr 5, 2012 8:58pm by Vincent Bevins

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Take a stroll down Copacabana Beach these days, or talk to hotel workers around Rio, and it’s clear that the tourist industry in Brazil is doing just fine. But it’s not the stereotypical sunburnt gringos that are powering the sector. Almost all of the growth is coming from Brazilians travelling around their own country. Continue reading »

Brics vs World Bank

Apr 5, 2012 7:43pm by Samantha Pearson

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There’s nothing Brazil’s finance minister loves more than a face-off between the ‘developed’ and ‘developing’ world. But Guido Mantega, the man who brought you the currency war, has kept relatively quiet on the question of the World Bank’s presidency. Until now.

After meeting the US nominee Jim Yong Kim on Thursday, Mantega said he was working on a proposal for the BRICS to jointly support one candidate. Continue reading »

Tags: Brics, Mantega, World Bank Posted in Africa, Asia, Brazil, China, Europe, India, LatAm, Russia, South Africa | Permalink

Russia Inc: jumping back on the Eurobond express

Apr 5, 2012 6:45pm by Courtney Weaver

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After a near seven month lull, Russian corporates are returning to the Eurobond market in droves. Big name borrowers such as state-owned Russian Railways and VTB have followed on the heels of the Russian government, which last week raised $7bn in one of the biggest emerging market sovereign issues ever, while privately-owned borrowers, including Promsvyazbank and Raspadskaya, are expected to soon follow suit. Continue reading »

Tags: bonds, capital markets, Eurobond, fund raising, hard currency bonds, Russia eurobond Posted in Russia | Permalink

Dubai restructuring: squeezing lenders

Apr 5, 2012 6:00pm by Simeon Kerr

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The lawyers have been busy this week in Dubai’s crowded debt-restructuring market.

First, debt-laden ship repairer Dubai Drydocks escaped from a group of its creditors – by seeking insolvency protection in the emirate at a special tribunal.

Then on Thursday, Dubai International Capital, the troubled private-equity vehicle controlled by the ruler’s holding company Dubai Holding, finalised a $2.5bn restructuring deal with lenders. Continue reading »

Tags: bonds, Dubai World, restructuring Posted in United Arab Emirates | Permalink

Ryanair boss: I want a statue (of me)

Apr 5, 2012 5:25pm by Kester Eddy

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The re-launch of Ryanair‘s services from Budapest has “probably” been the most successful start up ever for Ryanair, Michael O’Leary declared in the Hungarian capital on Thursday.

But the low-cost Irish carrier’s flamboyant chief executive warned that recent government moves to raise land taxes at Budapest Airport was “a very dangerous step,” likely to hamper the recovery of air transport and tourism. Continue reading »

Tags: Budapest airport, budget airlines, Ryanair Posted in Global, Hungary | Permalink

India: doors close for telecoms groups

Apr 5, 2012 2:44pm by Neil Munshi

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The doors are closing for the companies embroiled in India’s $39bn telecoms scandal.

India’s Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to review its order revoking the licences of 11 groups issued by jailed ex-minister A Raja in the multibillion-dollar 2G spectrum auction scam.

From June 2, domestic companies including Idea and Tata Teleservices and foreign companies such as Russia’s Sistema and Norway’s Telenor will have to cease operating 122 licences. Little recourse is left for domestic companies, but Sistema and Telenor can use diplomatic channels to lobby for some redress. Continue reading »

Tags: Sistema, Tata Teleservices, telecoms, Telenor Posted in Global, India | Permalink

Poland: the hawks gather

Apr 5, 2012 2:15pm by Jan Cienski

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The hawkish tone of Poland’s interest rate setting monetary policy council is creating alarm among analysts, who worry that any increase in interest rates could throttle Poland’s economic growth.

The council on Wednesday left Poland’s benchmark rate at 4.5 per cent, but seemed frustrated that markets were not taking the possibility of interest rate increases seriously. Continue reading »

Tags: inflation, monetary policy Posted in Poland | Permalink

Taiwan screen makers: Taipei chips in

Apr 5, 2012 1:55pm by Robin Kwong

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It was not too long ago that Taiwan’s now-gloomy D-Ram memory chip and flat panel industries were seen as the ‘twin stars’ of the island’s technology manufacturing sector.

So after the government stepped in three years ago to try to restructure the D-Ram industry, it is only fitting that it is now lending a hand to help Chi Mei Innolux, the island’s biggest flat panel maker and a subsidiary of Hon Hai, the world’s biggest electronics contract manufacturer. Continue reading »

Tags: bonds, Hon Hai, manufacturing, technology Posted in Taiwan | Permalink

Kyocera: digging deeper into India

Apr 5, 2012 1:29pm by Ben McLannahan

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Kyocera motto

Thank you, Kyocera. At a time when India was crying out for some stable, long-term investment, the Japanese company has obliged.

India has long been a promising market for Kyocera’s cutting tools. Three years ago the Kyoto-based manufacturer of ceramics, electronics and industrial components set up its first sales subsidiary in Gurgaon, later branching out into Pune, Bangalore and Chennai. Now it is going one better, launching a manufacturing joint venture with CTC, a Kyocera sub-contract manufacturer for the past ten years. Continue reading »

Tags: FDI, Kyocera, technology Posted in India | Permalink

Guest post: China’s foreign investment liberalisation is a “turning point”

Apr 5, 2012 12:40pm by beyondbrics

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By Linda Yueh, Bloomberg TV Economics Editor

It’s one of the most coveted of licences, and now more are available.

China has more than doubled the quotas that allow foreigners to invest in the mainland. And it’s not a token gesture. It’s part of the next phase of China’s economic development as it seeks to grow for another 30 years.

This will require a number of reforms; key among them concerns the capital markets, which are essential to rebalancing the economy. But, as with all such reforms, it is likely to be slow process and may not entirely deliver. Nonetheless, the move reflects a turning point in China’s development. Continue reading »

Tags: capital markets, China, investment Posted in Global | Permalink

New York headlines

Apr 5, 2012 11:56am by beyondbrics

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*US to ease sanctions on Myanmar

* US military charges alleged 9/11 plotters

* RRJ Said to Target $4 Billion as Asia Buyout Funds Grow

* Brazil’s EBX signs IBM technology partnership Continue reading »

Posted in Global | Permalink

Russia: Renault close to control at Lada

Apr 5, 2012 11:13am by beyondbrics

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By Ben Aris of Business New Europe

Avtovaz, the maker of Russia’s Lada cars, is in a race against time to modernise or die.

By agreeing to sell a controlling stake to Renault-Nissan in a deal that is expected to be closed shortly, the Kremlin has tacitly conceded that it has lost the fight to maintain a Russian-owned car producer.

But, with growing competition from other international carmakers, it remains to be seen whether Renault-Nissan can succeed where the Russian state has failed. Continue reading »

Tags: autos, Avtovaz, Nissan, Renault Posted in Russia | Permalink

EBRD presidency: a sporting guide

Apr 5, 2012 8:47am by Neil Buckley

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And they’re off. European Union finance ministers’ failure last Friday to agree on the next president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has turned the appointment from a quick decision into a protracted contest between five candidates.

The outcome depends on some complex politics. The job heading the lender to “emerging” Europe has become enmeshed with negotiations over three top eurozone positions. France is understood to have indicated it does not now want to see decisions on any of those until its own presidential election process is completed on May 6.

So that leaves observers time to study the runners and riders. Here is beyondbrics’s guide to their prospects: Continue reading »

Tags: banking, EBRD, EBRD presidency Posted in Europe | Permalink

Vietnamese GDP: getting into balance?

Apr 5, 2012 7:52am by Ben Bland

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A woman carrying used boxes in front of a modern car showroom, Hanoi, Vietnam

A sharp slowdown in GDP growth in the first quarter has left Vietnam watchers feeling rather ambivalent.

On the one hand, it’s evidence that the government’s monetary tightening measures have been successfully implemented, helping to bring annual inflation down to 14 per cent in March from an August peak of 23 per cent.

But the unexpectedly steep slowdown, with a strict cap on credit growth hitting construction and manufacturing, has left some investors fretting about the growth outlook. Continue reading »

Tags: GDP, inflation Posted in Vietnam | Permalink

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Daily Archives: Apr 5, 2012

Brazil tourism: forget the gringos

Brics vs World Bank

Russia Inc: jumping back on the Eurobond express

Dubai restructuring: squeezing lenders

Ryanair boss: I want a statue (of me)

India: doors close for telecoms groups

Poland: the hawks gather

Taiwan screen makers: Taipei chips in

Kyocera: digging deeper into India

Guest post: China’s foreign investment liberalisation is a “turning point”

New York headlines

Russia: Renault close to control at Lada

Further reading: Latam Goldman?

EBRD presidency: a sporting guide

Vietnamese GDP: getting into balance?

BB: time to register

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