Covid-19 could be good for Gulf equities
Trading volumes at the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) fell by over a quarter in the first half of 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic hit activity. However, a listing from national energy company Taqa and several initiatives to encourage new...
Covid-19 spurs domestic bank M&A in Africa
Access Bank’s Zambian subsidiary announced plans for the acquisition of a 100% stake of domestic lender Cavmont Capital Holdings Zambia in mid July. Following the collapse of Equity Bank’s plans to acquire Atlas Mara’s subsidiaries in Rwanda, Zambia, Mozambique and...
SGX’s Nasdaq tie-up is a bid to stem exchange’s outward flows
A new cooperation agreement between Singapore Exchange Regulation, the regulatory arm of the Singapore stock market, and Nasdaq aims to streamline a framework for dual listings on the two bourses. Singapore needs this much more than the US does –...
Banks back further state intervention in trade finance market
Financial institutions have backed the International Chamber of Commerce’s call for governments to scale up their support for trade finance to meet post-coronavirus demand.
Temasek result gives a window into sovereign wealth strategy through Covid
Temasek, one of Singapore’s sovereign wealth vehicles, today announced unaudited figures for its last financial year, showing a 2.3% decline in total shareholder return. In the circumstances, that’s really not bad. The Temasek financial year ends on March 31 –...
Corporate finance: Months late, Germany’s bailout fund gets to work
Economy minister Peter Altmaier announces approval from the European Commission’s state aid authority for the €600 billion WSF After months of delay, Berlin is moving ahead with a plan to recapitalize corporates with state money, in what one government says...
Sustainable finance: The financial sector must build D&I momentum
Events of the last few months, from the pandemic to protests ignited by the killing of George Floyd in the US, have thrust racial, ethnic and gender inequality into the spotlight. Financial institutions are rethinking their approach to diversity and...
Data doubts undermine treasury use of risk quantification
A recent report from Greenwich Associates found that 60% of corporate treasury professionals felt it was not possible to establish best practices for FX. Yet only one in five of the large companies surveyed employ the variance at risk (VaR)...
Dimon calls time on trading – and higher loan provisions
JPMorgan and Citigroup are the two biggest fixed income dealers and their second-quarter results on Tuesday confirmed another surge in debt trading revenues. JPMorgan generated $7.3 billion of fixed income trading revenue for a 99% increase over the same quarter...
Cryptos crash but never die, and funds of funds can profit
On July 6, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), licensed Crypto Facilities, the largest cryptocurrency futures exchange in Europe, as a fully recognized multilateral trading facility (MTF). The company – which offers a venue for leveraged, cash-settled futures contracts to traders...