Argentina: China rating agency welcome
Argentina’s scorn for the world’s big credit ratings agencies is no surprise –Hernán Lorenzino, the economy minister, last month accused them of “terrorist” tactics.
A reform of the country’s capital markets, then, could provide the government the opportunity it seeks to cut Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch down to size, at least on its home turf by allowing in other players, including universities. Continue reading »
Colombia: trading in a virtuous circle
Photo: Bloomberg
For years many people thought that Colombia only produced coffee and cocaine. Now, after an impressive turnaround, people think Colombia only produces coal and oil.
However, armed with his Adrien Brody looks and a PhD in Economics from an Ivy League university, Juan Pablo Córdoba, the president of Bogota’s stock exchange, the BVC, is ready persuade you that the local financial market is the future. Continue reading »
Turkey’s upgrade: the $100bn question
For years, in fact since Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Turkey from investment grade 1994, Turkish officials and financiers have been hoping to regain the rating.
On Monday, Fitch gave them their wish, with a BBB- rating. But how much difference does it make? $100bn worth, perhaps? Continue reading »
Eastern Europe: fiscal policy lessons
Western Europe tends not to look to eastern Europe for lessons in economic management, but in these straitened times it makes sense to consider the big differences in the impact of the global crisis on four countries that are often lumped together – Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. Continue reading »
Nigeria could soon see IPO revival
A strong market rally and improved regulation could tempt up to 20 companies to list on the $54bn Nigerian Stock Exchange in 2013, according to its chief executive officer Oscar Onyema.
The NSE has struggled since a crash in 2008 wiped more than two-thirds off the value of the All-Share Index and damaged investor confidence. Since 2009 there have been only a handful of small listings, compared to 88 between 2006 and 2008.
But in the year to date, the All-Share Index is up 28 per cent – and so is corporate sentiment about coming to market. Continue reading »
Ljubljana terminal: bidders announced
Domestic and foreign consortia have together made a total of seven bids to construct a new, second passenger terminal at Ljubljana’s Jože Pučnik Airport, Brigita Zorec, a representative for Aerodrom Ljubljana, the airport operator, told beyondbrics on Monday.
The bidders are, according to Zorec: Continue reading »
Despite the economic stagnation of Col Gaddafi’s regime and its chaotic aftermath, a few men with fat wallets and big dreams have managed to emerge from the wreckage. But corruption and bureaucracy are blocking efforts to regenerate the country’s battered economy. Borzou Daragahi reports from Tripoli. Continue reading »
Chart of the week: mobile numbers start to add up for EMs
As mobile phones approach worldwide ubiquity, it’s easy to see that the countries with the biggest populations will have the most connections, with China and India in the lead.
But which companies are serving those customers? And which ones are set to capitalise on the growth in emerging markets? Chart of the week dials in. Continue reading »
Piyush Gupta, chief executive of DBS, talks to the FT’s Jeremy Grant about Chinese non-performing loans, India’s urgent need for political reform and the booming economies of southeast Asia.
New York headlines
* Indonesia’s GDP growth exceeds 6% as investment climbs
* Fitch lifts Turkey to investment grade
* China communist party to probe Wen family wealth
* Chidambaram sees 2012 GDP growth of 5.5-6.0% Continue reading »
Fitch lifts Turkey to investment grade
Fitch on Monday became the first international credit rating agency to upgrade Turkey to investment grade.
The lira jumped on the news – strengthening by about 0.6 per cent against both the euro and the US dollar. While some investors had expected an announcement in advance of a Fitch conference in Istanbul this week, others weren’t sure the agency would move so soon. Continue reading »
Mongolia: lights come on at Oyu Tolgoi
After a few nervous months, Mongolia has secured a power supply agreement with China for the huge Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine. Rio Tinto, the Australian miner developing the $6bn project, confirmed on Monday that it had a binding electricity supply deal.
With that in place, the mine is all set to start commissioning in the next few weeks and begin commercial production next summer. Continue reading »
Consumers keep Indonesia ticking
Indonesia’s economy grew by an enviable 6.2 per cent in the third quarter, in line with market expectations. With benchmark rates at a record low and exports responsible for a far smaller portion of the economy than its neighbours, Indonesia appears to have cemented its place as an economy with a high resistance to global headwinds.
Though some had been expecting a little more, most analysts still seem confident that Indonesia will continue to chug along quite nicely. Continue reading »
India: Vodafone tax row hit bilateral investment treaty talks
It looks like India’s controversial decision to retrospectively tax Vodafone to the tune of $2.2bn may result in more than just sternly-worded comments from the likes of George Osborne and Timothy Geithner.
New Delhi’s plans for strengthening economic ties with key partners through new bilateral investment treaties are being put on hold – starting with Canada, whose prime minister Stephen Harper is visiting the sub-continent this week. Continue reading »
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