In the Middle East, fertility is the next big investment trend
Babies are set to become big business in the UAE as the government looks at ways to tackle the low birth rate among Emiratis. This presents new investment opportunities in long-term demographic changes, which should not be ignored by investors. ...
Repayment difficulties put Lebanese investors in a risk frenzy
Red light: Investors – you have been warned Lebanon stood out with one of the biggest falls of all among the countries downgraded by risk analysts in Euromoney’s global risk survey last year. The political and economic crisis saw it...
US stabs itself in back; China complains
A bill passed by the United States Senate that aims to force all foreign firms to comply with US audit standards has received short shrift in Beijing. China’s securities regulator – the CSRC – hit back, saying the proposal will “weaken confidence”...
Country risk: 2020 vision brings the eurozone’s risks into focus
The outlook is poor: GDP growth in the euro area has been slowing since 2017 and analysts see little reason to expect any near-term improvement. Analysts have taken a dim view of the region’s investor prospects in the presence of rising global...
Sideways: BlackRock walks a governance tightrope
BlackRock’s Larry Fink and New York Federal Reserve president John Williams: Both seem keenly aware that the slightest hint of impropriety in their unusual relationship could cause enormous reputational damage BlackRock was already under scrutiny after chief executive Larry Fink repositioned...
Country risk: Former Yugoslavia face higher risks – Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia exposed
The CEE region has coped well with managing the coronavirus pandemic, but will be severely tested by falling tourism, rising debts and political instability.
Banks step in to end African medical tourism
“When this virus struck, we found out that only 28% – less than one third – of health facilities in sub-Saharan Africa have reliable sources of energy,” says Amani Abou-Zeid, commissioner for infrastructure and energy at the African Union Commission. “That...
Ukraine’s banking law: a step forward, but not a leap
Ukraine has a new banking law. On May 21, with much fanfare, president Volodymyr Zelensky finally put his signature on the bill, which had been in the works since last autumn. His supporters, and many of Ukraine’s international backers, hailed...
In C-Reits, China sees chance to steady the ship
China has approved its first onshore real estate investment trusts, in an attempt to channel fresh capital into infrastructure projects and give its ailing economy a much-needed boost. A pilot scheme will be rolled out in the second half of...
Large bank M&A across Europe is now inevitable
Euromoney asks the chief executive of one large European bank for an outlook on the economy, likely credit losses and potential mitigants. He expects the European economy to contract maybe 8% in 2020 – although his own economists are regularly...