By Andrei Skvarsky. Azerbaijan’s money supply excluding bank assets has contracted nearly by half since mid-2015, an Azeri newspaper said, claiming that the reason is that Azeris have been changing national currency for dollars on a wide scale. Continue Reading
MNI Indicators: Consumer sentiment in Russia up slightly but still low
By Andrei Skvarsky. Surveys by MNI Indicators, a research arm of Deutsche Boerse, suggest that consumer sentiment in Russia remained quite low in February but that on the whole consumers were a wee bit more optimistic than in January. Continue Reading
Asia Frontier Capital (AFC) – February 2016 Newsletter
“The individual investor should act consistently as an investor and not as a speculator.” – Ben Graham. AFC Asia Frontier Fund (AAFF) USD A-shares lost -0.8% in February 2016. The fund this month underperformed the MSCI Frontier Markets Asia Index (+0.4%) and the MSCI Frontier Markets Index (+3.5%), but outperformed the MSCI World Index (−1.0%).… Continue Reading
Russia’s Pulsar firm to give priority status in acceleration programme to women-founded startups
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia-based seed accelerator Pulsar Venture Capital has promised to give priority status in an acceleration programme to Russian high-tech startups founded by women in a bid to boost female presence in industries where it remains low. Continue Reading
India to resume full-scale trade with Iran
By Andrei Skvarsky. India plans to resume full-scale trade with Iran, a British business communications agency said, citing a decision by the Indian government that followed the lifting of international anti-Iranian sanctions. Continue Reading
Sberbank strategist: Oil, rouble to drop again but to resume ascent
By Andrei Skvarsky. A top analyst at Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender, has argued that the current oil price rise and the consequent re-appreciation of the rouble represent a stable long-term trend but that both the oil price and the Russian currency are likely to sag again before resuming their upward movement. Continue Reading
Moscow Exchange : Derivatives trade doubles in volume year-on-year
By Andrei Skvarsky. Trade in securities, money and precious metals on Moscow Exchange has grown significantly year-on-year with sales of derivatives more than doubling and those of precious metals nearly trebling, the bourse said. Continue Reading
Moscow Exchange reports record client activity in derivatives, forex segments
Moscow Exchange has said it had record client activity in its derivatives and foreign exchange segments in February. Continue Reading
Iran’s Bank Mellat to reopen Seoul branch
By Andrei Skvarsky. Bank Mellat, Iran’s largest private lender, plans to reopen its branch in Seoul next month after effectively suspending its business in South Korea in 2010 because of Western sanctions against the Islamic Republic, a London-based business communications agency said. Continue Reading
MNI Indicators poll: Business sentiment in Russia up but production 19% down month-on-month
By Andrei Skvarsky. Barometric monthly surveys by a Deutsche Boerse subsidiary suggest that overall business sentiment in Russia edged up in February but that pessimists still outnumbered optimists among company executives and that production had plummeted by one-fifth month-on-month. Continue Reading
Sberbank to replace head of international business
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender, has announced it is going to part company with its head of international operations, Sergey Gorkov, and replace him with Svetlana Sagaidak, who would be discharged as head of corporate business to take up her new role. Continue Reading
Sberbank: Russian real estate market afloat despite economic troubles
By Andrei Skvarsky. Though battered by current national economic troubles, Russia’s real estate market remains very much afloat, according to studies by Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender. Continue Reading
Sberbank CIB hires banker from Nordea to head client management dept
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank CIB, the investment arm of Russia’s biggest lender Sberbank, has announced it has hired Igor Bulantsev from the Russian unit of Nordea, the largest bank in the Nordic region by market value, as vice president and head of client management. Continue Reading
Consumer sentiment in Russia down for 2nd month in a row – MNI Indicators
By Andrei Skvarsky. Consumer sentiment in Russia edged down for the second consecutive month in January after rising a little in November, according to monthly polls by a Deutsche Boerse affiliate. Continue Reading
Kazakhstan bans forex pricing in e-commerce to ‘de-dollarise’ economy
By Andrei Skvarsky. Rules on electronic commerce put into force in Kazakhstan on February 2 prescribe setting all prices in Kazakh tenge and ban pricing in foreign currency as part of the “de-dollarisation of the economy”. Continue Reading
Sberbank CIB appoints chiefs for regional teams
By Andrei Skvarsky. Investment bank Sberbank CIB has appointed chief executives for investment and corporate business teams at three of the 14 regional divisions of its parent company Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender. Continue Reading
Asia Frontier Capital (AFC) – January 2016 Newsletter
“Consistency is far more important than rare moments of greatness.” – Scott Ginsberg. AFC Asia Frontier Fund (AAFF) USD A-shares lost -3.5% in January 2016. The fund this month outperformed the MSCI Frontier Markets Asia Index (-6.3%), the MSCI Frontier Markets Index (-6.8%), and the MSCI World Index (-6.1%). The performance of the AFC Asia Frontier… Continue Reading
RenCap appoints new global head of equities
By Andrei Skvarsky. Renaissance Capital has appointed Ruslan Babaev, its chief business officer, as global head of equities to replace Ben Samuels, who is parting company with the Russian investment bank. Continue Reading
Moscow Exchange reports booming securities, FX trade despite Russia’s woes
By Andrei Skvarsky. Moscow Exchange has said the turnover of financial instruments, money and precious metals on its trading floors has grown massively year on year, with sales of foreign exchange increasing by two and half times and those of derivatives nearly doubling. Continue Reading
Lamudi property trader raises 29m euros for Asia, Latin America business
By Andrei Skvarsky. Lamudi, an online real estate trader focusing on emerging and frontier markets, has raised 29m euros ($31.4m) in investment to grow its operations in Latin America and Asia. Continue Reading
CFO Fetisov gets another 3-year stint on Moscow Exchange exec board
Moscow Exchange has announced that its chief financial officer, Evgeny Fetisov, has been re-elected for a second three-year stint on its executive board. Continue Reading
Business sentiment in Russia falls ‘sharply’ – Deutsche Boerse intel arm
By Andrei Skvarsky. Deutsche Boerse’s intelligence arm, citing monthly surveys, says Russia’s business community sank back into pessimism in January after a rise in optimism in December. Continue Reading
RenCap thinks Russian economy will shrink 0.6% in 2016
Russian investment bank Renaissance Capital says in a revised forecast that Russia’s economy is likely to shrink by 0.6% in 2016. Continue Reading
RenCap analyst: Iran electricity sector booming but shut to private money
An analyst at Russian investment bank Renaissance Capital says Iran generates enough electricity to cope with a hypothetical pace of economic growth that would double its GDP, but that it may be a while before private investors are let into the country’s state-controlled electricity sector. Continue Reading
GUEST ARTICLE: Is it time for the robot (advisors) to take over?
By Kim Iskyan,* founder of Truewealth Publishing, an independent Asia-focused financial website, and editor of Truewealth Asian Investment Daily, a daily e-letter. Investing can be intimidating, especially when you don’t have much experience. Some people rely on private bankers or stock brokers – who don’t always have their customers’ best interests in mind. Some people… Continue Reading
RenCap: Iran GDP may grow 4.5% by end of 2017 but stock market needs sorting out
Russian investment bank Renaissance Capital estimates that the GDP of post-sanctions Iran may grow 4.5% by the end of 2017 if the oil price stays at around $30 per barrel. Continue Reading
Consumer sentiment in Russia edges down in December – MNI Indicators
By Andrei Skvarsky. Consumer sentiment in Russia edged down again in December after going up slightly in November but was only negligibly below its start-of-2015 level, according to polls by Deutsche Boerse-owned intelligence company MNI Indicators. Continue Reading
Asia Frontier Capital Newsletter – December 2015
AFC Asia Frontier Fund (AAFF) USD A-shares gained +3.0% in December 2015. This month the fund outperformed the MSCI Frontier Markets Asia Index (+1.5%), the MSCI Frontier Markets Index (-0.3%), and the MSCI World Index (-1.9%). AFC Asia Frontier Fund A-shares ended the year with a performance of +0.8% versus the MSCI Frontier Asia Index… Continue Reading
Property portal Bayut.com raises $20m in 3rd round of venture funding
By Andrei Skvarsky. Dubai-based online real estate dealer Bayut.com has raised $20m in the third of three rounds of venture investment. Continue Reading