IFR Special Reports

IFR IMF/World Bank 2008

A little over 12 months ago, bankers still regarded emerging markets with the kind of excitement usually exhibited by young children approaching their birthdays. Constituting a significant proportion of the world’s land mass, emerging markets seemed to offer almost boundless opportunities as they struggled to close the gap on their more developed neighbours. Fuelled in particular by the remarkable economic transformation currently taking place in the biggest of their number – the so-called BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China –...Read more

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Stories in Special Report

CITIC Bank's debut CLO

China CITIC Bank priced its debut Rmb4.077bn (US$582m) CLO last Wednesday. It was the first such deal since China Development Bank issued a Rmb3.76bn CLO in April. The deal divides up into a Rmb500m Triple A rated A1-1 tranche with an expected maturity of July 26 2009, which priced at 4.45%; an Rmb800m Triple A rated A1-2 tranche with a maturity of October 26 2009, which priced at 4.65%; a Rmb2.134bn Triple A rated A2 tranche maturing on July 26 2010, which priced at 99bp over the one-year deposit rate; and a Rmb414m Single A rated B piece that...

Make acquisitions, not war

The few televisions across America and Europe that were not showing the Olympics in Beijing were hijacked by scenes of Georgian civilians fleeing their homes in South Ossetia, and Russian armour rolling into Gori. The scenes have given foreigners pause, but inside Russia it is business as usual. Benjamin Seeder reports.

Healthy appetites

North American and Western European buyout markets are suffering dramatic falls in deal flow thanks to the credit crunch but private equity investment in emerging Europe appears to be holding up. A steady mid market deal flow across Central Europe and a trickle of more esoteric transactions has kept the markets moving, writes Donal O’Donovan.

RMBS rescue, Mexican style

When the US securitisation market started showing signs of fatigue, few were surprised when its Mexican counterpart duly began gasping. Yet Mexican authorities showed themselves ahead of the curve – ahead, even, of their northern neighbour – by stepping in to save the precious mortgage-backed securities market. It has helped fuel a strong expansion in the local housing sector, as Christopher Langner reports.

LatAm integrates

Be it Inca-bonds issued by a Colombian company or Europesos sold in Mexico by a Chilean group, Latin American companies have found in recent months that they do not have to go to London or New York to raise money: they can tap their neighbours instead. Christopher Langner reports.

Buy now, pay later

Against a backdrop of dire fortunes in most developed western markets, consumer finance arms of the major banks have been looking for growth in emerging markets, with Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America seen as key areas for growth. Jonathan Bracey-Gibbon reports.

Not all plain sailing

It has been more than three years since poster child Brazil graduated from the IMF in style. Since then it attained investment grade status, reduced its inflation, cleaned out its US$13bn restructured Brady debt, bought back more than US$15bn of its expensive international debt, reduced vulnerabilities in its local debt profile and turned its equity capital market into one of the world’s fastest growing. Yet it is not all good news. Anthony Dovkants reports.

African pause

Sub-Saharan African supply has stalled since 2007's groundbreaking Ghana and Gabon debuts, with political problems in Kenya offering a timely reminder about the risks of doing business there. But there are still some signs of life in Africa’s debt markets. John Weavers reports.

Banks test appetite for hedge funds

Barclays Capital has become the latest bank to provide a Sharia-compliant hedge fund platform, Al Safi, in June. Barclay’s product allows investors to tap into five hedge funds – managed by Tocqueville Asset Management, Ospraie Managament, BlackRock, Lucas Capital Management and Zweig-DiMenna – focused on commodities. Each of the funds has received a commitment of US$50m from the government-backed Dubai Multi Commodities Centre Authority. To date, there have been but a handful of players offering hedge funds in the Sharia market. Banks have...

A new world of opportunities

Islamic finance is no longer a niche market. Most investment banks now have departments looking into tapping the region’s wealth, and the success of the sukuk market over the last few years merely demonstrates the huge potential for financing activities in the region, writes Han-Nee Tay.

Financing the essentials

In almost any country with an interesting economic story to tell, there is an infrastructure trend underlying it, fuelling booms in the BRIC markets and beyond. And while sections of the public remain skeptical about privatisation of their essential services, a consensus is being reached that private investment is essential to deliver high quality services. Savita Iyer-Ahrestani reports.

Emerging emerging markets

Expectations at the end of last year that 2008 would see a surge in equity issuance from Sub Saharan Africa have proved overdone despite some high profile deals. The region's equity markets have also come under pressure as global turmoil spreads. But investor interest in African companies remains strong and bankers are optimistic that the region's capital markets will continue to develop. Chris Vellacott reports.

Coping without you

Prior to the onset of the credit crunch, decoupling was one of finance’s favourite questions. Had the more mature emerging markets reached a point where they no longer depended on the US and Europe for growth? The answer was provided more quickly and definitively than most could possibly have anticipated. Chris Wright reports.

From Single A to Triple A

The World Bank has been at the forefront of innovation in the capital markets, enabling it to pass on the benefits of its relative scarcity to its end clients. The credit credentials of the Washington-based borrower have seen it at the forefront of capital market innovation, as it continues to work in parallel with the International Monetary Fund, reports Mike Winfield.

Special Report

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