By Andrei Skvarsky. Forty African banks took part in last week’s iteration of an annual event in Mauritius whose main purpose is to showcase an initiative by Mauritius Commercial Bank Group (MCB), East Africa’s biggest lender, to be a one-stop shop for banks by providing a regional platform for trade finance, cards outsourcing and consultancy. Continue Reading
Asia Frontier Capital (AFC) – August 2016 Newsletter
“Successful Investing takes time, discipline and patience. No matter how great the talent or effort, some things just take time: You can’t produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant.” – Warren Buffet AFC Funds Performance Summary The AFC Asia Frontier Fund has recorded its 6th month of positive performance in… Continue Reading
Orange to provide more extensive financial services in four African countries
By Andrei Skvarsky. Orange SA, a multinational telecommunications operator, has obtained licences to provide more extensive mobile financial services in Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast and Guinea. Continue Reading
Sun Global Investments CEO: 5-fold rise in US direct investment in India is Modi’s work
By Andrei Skvarsky. The chief executive of Sun Global Investments, a London-based financial services firm, has confirmed that US direct investment in India has increased fivefold over the past two years, and has put it to the credit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been in office since May 2014. Continue Reading
Money pours into UAE real estate market – Bayut
By Andrei Skvarsky. Dubai-based real estate portal Bayut.com says statistics prove that the United Arab Emirates’ real estate market “continues to inspire trust in investors”. Continue Reading
Barclays, Standard Chartered under fire from African environmentalists
By Andrei Skvarsky. Barclays and Standard Chartered last week had their London headquarters picketed by demonstrators protesting against the two British banks’ alleged funding of a Kenyan company accused of environmental and other crimes. Continue Reading
Kenya to get $118.5m as immediate bounty from intl forum – Daily Nation
By Andrei Skvarsky. Kenya expects about $118.5m to be immediately injected into its economy by the organisers and delegates of a planned large-scale international conference in Nairobi this week on African development. Continue Reading
Asia Frontier Capital (AFC) – July 2016 Newsletter
“In investing, what is comfortable is rarely profitable.” – Robert Arnott, Research Affiliates AFC Funds Performance Summary The Brexit surprise in late June caused a period of volatility in worldwide equity markets which was followed by a rebound in July with US markets posting significant gains, while most European markets recovered somewhat but are still… Continue Reading
Rents in Dubai, Abu Dhabi go down – Bayut
By Andrei Skvarsky. Apartment rents in Dubai and Abu Dhabi have fallen over the past year, according to the Bayut.com real estate portal. Continue Reading
Moscow Exchange makes two appointments to top executive body
By Andrei Skvarsky. Moscow Exchange’s supervisory board has promoted two of the bourse’s senior officers – Anna Kuznetsova, head of equity and bond trade, and Igor Marich, head of foreign exchange (FX) and money trade, – to two-year positions on the exchange’s executive board, its top executive body. Continue Reading
Goldman Sachs, Sberbank bankers join Moscow Exchange’s strategy crew
By Andrei Skvarsky. Two senior bankers – one from Goldman Sachs and one from Russia’s largest lender, Sberbank, – have been appointed to Moscow Exchange’s strategic planning body, the Exchange Council. Continue Reading
Moscow Exchange to buy back two subsidiaries in consolidation scheme
By Andrei Skvarsky. Moscow Exchange will buy back two subsidiaries in a planned consolidation process to be completed by the end of 2016. Continue Reading
Sberbank CIB hires Shemetov from Moscow Exchange to oversee global markets
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank has hired Andrey Shemetov, previously deputy chief executive of Moscow Exchange, as head of global markets at the biggest Russian lender’s investment arm, Sberbank CIB. Continue Reading
Brexit bad for Poland but may have upsides to it too – Polish minister
By Andrei Skvarsky. Britain’s exit from the European Union means that in Poland GDP growth could slow by as much as one per cent in 2017 and 2018, a Bloomberg analyst has said, citing the Polish economic development minister. Continue Reading
Asia Frontier Capital (AFC) – June 2016 Newsletter
“To invest successfully over a lifetime does not require a stratospheric IQ, unusual business insights, or inside information. What’s needed is a sound intellectual framework for making decisions and the ability to keep emotions from corroding that framework.” – Warren Buffett Continue Reading
O1 Properties thinking of putting $30m into Moscow apartment project
By Andrei Skvarsky. O1 Properties, a Russian investment company owning and managing premium-class office space, is considering investing about $30m into the planned construction of about 200 apartments on the premises of a cultural and business complex in central Moscow. Continue Reading
About 90 per cent of investments into Moscow economy private money – deputy mayor
By Andrei Skvarsky. Nearly 90 per cent of recent investments into Moscow’s economy has been private money, a deputy mayor announced last week. Continue Reading
Sberbank’s European subsidiary to be led by veteran Austrian banker
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank has hired Gerhard Randa, an ex-head of Bank Austria, as chief executive of Sberbank Europe AG, a Vienna-headquartered subsidiary of Russia’s biggest lender operating in Austria, Germany and eight Eastern European countries. Continue Reading
Asia Frontier Capital (AFC) – May 2016 Newsletter
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” – Chinese Proverb Continue Reading
Russia consumer sentiment barometer of MNI Indicators down to ‘record low’
By Andrei Skvarsky. Surveys by a research subsidiary of Deutsche Boerse suggest that consumer sentiment in Russia dropped to a “record low” in May after edging up steadily for a few months. Continue Reading
Russia’s BCS to officially launch business in N. America
By Andrei Skvarsky. BCS Global Markets, a key Russian securities broker, will officially launch business in North America within a couple of weeks after a current transaction in which it is buying out Alforma Capital Markets, a US subsidiary of Russia’s Alfa-Bank, is due to be completed. Continue Reading
The Best Market in the World?
By Carl T. Delfeld Vice Chairman, ASEAN Investment Council. This article has been kindly made available to EmergingMarkets.me by Thomas Hugger, CEO and Fund Manager of Asia Frontier Capital Wouldn’t it be great if you could create an ideal market to invest in out of thin air? Right off the bat you would want growth – lots… Continue Reading
GUEST ARTICLE: China’s aggressive hunt for overseas property as yuan goes down
By Ivan Stupachenko, Tranio.com real estate brokerage.* With so much money flying into overseas real estate markets, it begs the question: Who are these Chinese investors and why are they so eager to get their funds off the mainland? Continue Reading
Lombard Odier: Brexit may shake London’s status as global financial hub
By Andrei Skvarsky. Swiss private bank Lombard Odier has warned that a Brexit – Britain’s potential exit from the European Union through the June 23 referendum – may threaten London’s status as a global financial centre, thereby depriving Britain of one of its key assets. Continue Reading
Vietnam’s TPBank rescues $1.13m from cyber theft – Reuters
Vietnam’s Tien Phong Bank (TPBank) thwarted an attempt in the final quarter of 2015 to rob it of more than 1m euros ($1.13m) via fraudulent messages through the SWIFT international transfers system, Reuters said, citing the lender. Continue Reading
Consumer sentiment in Russia rises steadily but slowly – Deutsche Boerse subsidiary
By Andrei Skvarsky. Consumer sentiment surveys in Russia by a Deutsche Boerse subsidiary show a steady albeit very slow rise in optimism between February and April. Continue Reading
Russian companies increasingly upbeat for 3rd month running – Deutsche Boerse intel arm
By Andrei Skvarsky. Surveys by an intelligence subsidiary of Deutsche Boerse suggest that Russia’s business community has been increasingly optimistic in February, March and April. Continue Reading
Asia Frontier Capital (AFC) – April 2016 Newsletter
“Most people get interested in stocks when everyone else is. The time to get interested is when no one else is. You can’t buy what is popular and do well.” – Warren Buffett. AFC Funds Performance Summary World markets started weak this year with a big drop in January and February 2016, and most… Continue Reading
Amsterdam, Budapest forums to discuss collateral management, retail banking problems
The planned 5th Annual Collateral Management Forum in Amsterdam on June 2-3 will take up a variety of issues, including numerous challenges presented to financial institutions by continual regulatory changes. Continue Reading