By Andrei Skvarsky. Moscow-based buyout fund Unicorn Capital Partners with target capitalisation of $500m has announced its first acquisition, the purchase of controlling interest in Constanta Group, one of Russia’s largest designers and manufacturers of translucent façade systems and other glass products. Unicorn, whose main objective is to buy out undervalued small and medium enterprises… Continue Reading
GUEST ARTICLE: Do IT with Poland – IT sector as powerhouse of Polish economy
By Jakub Smela, Public Relations Manager, M Promotion Agency, Warsaw. A strong Polish representation at this year’s E3 Expo in Los Angeles is a good reason to take a closer look at the dynamically growing Polish sector of new information and communication technologies. It was not without a reason, that during his last visit to… Continue Reading
EXCLUSIVE: Russia’s BCS gets UK regulatory go-ahead for business, plans hires
By Andrei Skvarsky. The London-based arm of Russian broker BCS has received British regulatory authorisation for brokerage business and plans a series of key hires for the next four to six weeks. The authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to deal with and advise on investments and hold client assets marks the official launch… Continue Reading
Moscow Exchange-Deutsche Börse deal allows selling Deutsche Bank shares in Russia
By Andrei Skvarsky. Moscow Exchange and Deutsche Börse have signed an agreement allowing Deutsche Bank, Siemens, BMW, Volkswagen and Daimler shares to be traded at the Moscow bourse as from September this year. The two exchanges picked some of Germany’s most liquid shares for their deal, Moscow Exchange chief executive Alexander Afanasiev said after he… Continue Reading
Sberbank lending $2.2bn to Potanin’s Interros conglomerate
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank CIB, the investment arm of Russia’s biggest lender Sberbank, has pledged to open several five-year credit lines to a total of $2.2bn for oligarch Vladimir Potanin’s Interros multi-industrial investment conglomerate. The money will be used to refinance part of Interros’s current loan portfolio and fund some of the projects of the… Continue Reading
BrokerCreditService gets to top spot in Moscow bourse derivatives trade
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s BrokerCreditService (BCS) has taken the number one spot by derivatives trading volumes at Moscow Exchange for May, pushing rival Moscow broker Otkritie down to second place. BCS, which set up an office in London from scratch less than a year ago, posted a turnover of 1.82trln rubles ($57bn) in the bourse’s… Continue Reading
BankersAccuity launches database on Russian politically exposed persons
By Andrei Skvarsky. BankersAccuity, a company setting global standards for payment efficiency and offering compliance solutions, is launching the first politically exposed person (PEP) database for the Russian market in a bid to prevent fraud, money laundering and bribery. {{{?}}} The database contains data on individuals who are part of the executive, legislative or judicial… Continue Reading
Sberbank hires bankers from J.P. Morgan, RBS for commodity trading, equity financing
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender, has announced two senior hires for the fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) division of its investment arm, Sberbank CIB. Francois Mantion has joined from J.P. Morgan as head of commodity trading and Raymond Bird came over from Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to take charge of strategic… Continue Reading
VTB Capital’s appoints an Independent Non-Executive Director to the Supervisory Board of Nova Ljubljanska Banka
Miha Košak, Central & Eastern European (CEE) Coverage Banker at Global Banking Department at VTB Capital, has been appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director to the Supervisory Board of Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB), Slovenia’s leading bank. The four year appointment was confirmed at NLB’s annual general meeting of shareholders. NLB Group is the largest Slovenian… Continue Reading
Prudential Real Estate Investors expands Global Real Estate Securities Team
CBRE Global Investors named Jean Lamothe as head of value-add investments in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Lamothe’s role will be to provide clients with a new range of investment opportunities across Europe. Lamothe, who has been with CBRE Global Investors since 2010, will continue to be based in London. CBRE Global Investors named Michael Ness as head… Continue Reading
CBRE acquired Sogesmaint-CBRE
CBRE Group, the global commercial real estate services and investment firm, today announced that it has acquired full ownership of SOGESMAINT-CBRE, a property and asset management specialist operating in Belgium. CBRE has held a minority interest in the company since 2006. SOGESMAINT-CBRE was established in 1973 and today it is one of the leading property… Continue Reading
CBRE Global Investors names head of value-add investments for EMEA
CBRE Global Investors named Jean Lamothe as head of value-add investments in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Lamothe’s role will be to provide clients with a new range of investment opportunities across Europe. Lamothe, who has been with CBRE Global Investors since 2010, will continue to be based in London. CBRE Global Investors named Michael Ness as head… Continue Reading
EBRD provides €30m for district heating infrastructure in Western Ukraine
The EBRD is continuing its drive to modernise Ukraine’s district heating sector with investments aimed at increased energy and cost efficiency, improved financial sustainability and regulatory reform of municipal utilities. {{{*}}} Its latest project in this sector, in the largest western Ukrainian municipality of Lviv, will consist of an EBRD loan of up to €20… Continue Reading
Baring Asset Management makes senior appointments at it's Emerging markets team
Baring Asset Management appointed Staffan Lindfeldt as head of Global Emerging Market Equities, and will be responsible for leading and managing the Global Emerging Market (GEMs) Equities Team. Joining from Handelsbanken Asset Management in Stockholm where he has been chief portfolio manager for Global Emerging Markets since 2006, Lindfeldt will be the lead investment manager on several of… Continue Reading
Reviving The Future Of Retail Banking Through Islamic Finance
5th Worild Islamic Retail Banking Conference, (26 – 27 November, Shangri-La Hotel in Dubai – UAE), will gather global industry leaders to brainstorm, understand and analyze the importance of Islamic finance in regards with retail banking. Global Islamic banking assets with commercial banks to reach $1.8 trillion in 2013 (2011: $1.3 trillion), representing average annual… Continue Reading
Millions of euro of Western support and assistance risk being wasted unless the Ukrainian government will start being active in the energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors
“Ukraine is stumbling forward not being able to drop opportunity fully, yet” said Dave Young, Chairman of the European-Ukrainian Energy Agency as closing remark of the 4th European-Ukrainian Energy Day “Ukraine’s Energy Market: Steps Forward or Lost Opportunity?” {{{?}}} Over 200 stakeholder from the energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors, among which representatives from international state institutions, diplomatic… Continue Reading
Standard Charteted hires equity research analyst
Standard Chartered has named Zhang Su as equity research analyst, emerging companies. He is based in Hong Kong and reports jointly to Jeremy Sutch, head of emerging companies research, and Erwin Sanft, head of Hong Kong/China equity research. In this role, he will be responsible for covering emerging companies in China and Hong Kong. His… Continue Reading
EBRD channels €52.1 to major Ukrainian developer
The EBRD is organising a financing package of up to €52.1 million to a major domestic retailer, Multi Veste Ukraine, for the construction and development of an international quality, inner-city retail centre. Up to €30 million of the total amount will be syndicated to Unicredit Bank. {{{*}}} The project represents a substantial investment into the… Continue Reading
PineBridge Investments appoints Chief Investment Officer
PineBridge Investments announced an appointment of new chief investment officer. Wael Aburida will lead the company’s MENA Private Equity and Real Estate Team covering the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, with responsibility for deal origination, negotiations, execution, portfolio management, and exits. Aburida joins from UAE-based Waha Capital where he was director of Mergers & Acquisitions, and was… Continue Reading
Renaissance Capital strengthens South Africa research team with new hires.
Renaissance Capital has boosted its South Africa equity research team with the appointment of Zaheer Joosub as Vice President, covering the South African retail sector; and Ahmed Motara as Vice-President, covering the property sector. Joosub joins Renaissance from Citigroup, where he has worked as an equity analyst for the past nine years. He was ranked in the top-five… Continue Reading
Myanmar Unveils $500 Million Tourism Plan
The Government of Myanmar, alongside the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Norway, today unveiled a Tourism Master Plan which outlines 38 development projects valued at nearly a half billion dollars that will help increase Myanmar’s tourism competitiveness, protect environmentally important areas, and safeguard ethnic communities. “This master plan outlines a path to… Continue Reading
RVC co-creates Russian war industry’s first civilian high tech-focused fund
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s state-owned RVC fund of funds for high-tech promotion and defence firm Ramenskoye Instrument Design Bureau (RPKB) have set up what is the Russian military industry’s first-ever venture fund to invest in civilian high-tech projects. The Defence Industry Civilian Technologies fund will have 1bn rubles ($31m) under management and will be managed… Continue Reading
Mail.Ru Group Invests $1.5 Million in Visual Search Company, Cortica Ltd.
Mail.Ru Group invested in Israeli-based Cortica Ltd. Cortica is the pioneer of a new approach to computer-driven understanding of images and videos through its unique and proprietary Image2Text™ technology. Mail.Ru Group is investing $1.5 million in Cortica in order to support and access its Image2Text™ technology. This investment is a part of the larger round… Continue Reading
Webinar: The MUST AVOID Mistakes in Financial Services Resumes
Dear Community, Fewer jobs in finance means the competition has never been as tough…don’t miss this free webinar on “The MUST AVOID Mistakes in Financial Services Resumes”. {{{?}}} Our career resource partner, Ivy Exec, an exclusive career community for the business elites worldwide, is offering Emerging Markets Investment Professionals Network LinkedIn Group members access to… Continue Reading
Saudi Shariah-compliant Sedco to follow UN-suggested investment guidelines
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sedco, a Saudi Shariah-compliant private wealth manager, has pledged to follow environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles laid down by United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI), a set of voluntary guidelines on ESG issues. Sedco Capital US Equities Fundamental Indexing Fund and Sedco Capital Global Higher Dividend Yield Fund have become the first… Continue Reading
Hermitage’s Browder off wanted list as Interpol refuses to play ball with Russia
Hermitage Capital chief executive Bill Browder has come off the international wanted list as Interpol refused to help Russia with the “predominantly political” prosecution of the ex-colleague of whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky. “The CCF studied a complaint brought before it by Mr Browder and concluded that the case was of a predominantly political nature and recommended that… Continue Reading
EAST CAPITAL COMMENT: Turkish growth set to continue
The Turkish stock market has continued to perform well, and is already up 10.1 percent since the beginning of the year. That performance is just a continuation of a trend that has seen the market rise since the beginning of 2012. But for how long can it continue to perform? “Looking at the big picture,… Continue Reading
Russia’s major RVC high-tech fund co-launches new contest for IT startups
By Andrei Skvarsky. RVC, a major Russian state-owned 30bn-ruble ($100m) fund of funds for high-tech promotion, is co-launching an “accelerator competition” for information technology startups. Between 60 and 70 firms will be involved in what will be Russia’s first contest of its kind and part of the annual Business Information Technologies (BIT) competition, which has… Continue Reading
RenCap says middle income trap the source of Russia’s woes
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s Renaissance Capital argues that the likeliest explanation of Russia’s current economic slowdown is a middle income trap, a situation where a fast-growing economy gets stuck after reaching a certain level of per capita income. “Fast-growing economies, including Russia, eventually slow down as the easy catch-up productivity gains relative to developed economies… Continue Reading