Global monitor: With 189 member states encompassing virtually the entire globe, the International Monetary Fund is uniquely positioned to monitor the health of the economic environment throughout the world.
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GDP-linked sovereign bonds, whose principal and coupons fluctuate depending on the issuer’s economic performance, have taken a step closer to becoming a recognised part of international finance in recent months after they have been acknowledged in G20 communiques.
A dramatic political shift towards more market-friendly governments in South America is creating huge investment opportunities for foreign firms but it is not yet certain if the public will accept deep structural reforms that would put the region’s main economies on a firmer economic footing.
The World Bank may have completed a landmark offering of bonds denominated in Special Drawing Rights, the IMF’s synthetic reserve currency, but it faces tough challenges if it is to become a viable market for other issuers.
Spurred on by the anguish of a world where more than US$10trn of debt trades at negative yields, global investors have been splurging on local currency bonds. One country, however, has been shunned amid this emerging market shopping spree: Mexico.
Peru has trail-blazed the use of project bonds to finance infrastructure projects and their application is now spreading to other Latin American countries that want to close their infrastructure deficits.
While progress has been made, there are still many hurdles to overcome before a mutually acceptable resolution is reached on Greece’s situation.
Turkey in stasis following failed coup attempt as country awaits Moody’s decision.
Demand for Russian corporate debt is in evidence, although supply has been slow to appear.
Following a litany of missed opportunities and obfuscation, Mozambique is desperately trying to restore confidence before it is too late.
There was some scepticism whether the Masala bond market would take off, but in a very short period of time it has become flavour of the month with both issuers and buyers.
Predictions that China’s moves to open up the onshore bond market and promote Panda issuance would spell the end of the offshore Dim Sum market have so far proved wide of the mark.
Despite a backdrop of civil unrest, markets in the Philippines are proving remarkably buoyant under the country’s colourful new president.
The Middle East has been one of the busiest regions in emerging market bonds this year, but non-financial corporate issuers largely remain a no-show in a market resistant to increasing corporate transparency.
Sovereign borrowing will continue to buoy loan market activity in the Middle East for years to come as Gulf states deal with the long-term effects of low oil prices, but immediate deal flow looks bleak.