Sector - Sovereign Advisory

Qatar in Savoy talks

Sovereign fund to add hotel to London portfolio.

Poland issues update on privatisation plans

Treasury raised almost PLN7bn through deals in 2009.

SWFs face effects of the crisis

The financial downturn could lead to some unexpected consequences for sovereign wealth funds, according to a new report.

Barclays exec targets sovereign wealth clients with new firm

Roger Jenkins, a renowned deal-maker and executive chairman of the Barclays Investment Banking business in the Middle East, will leave the bank to set up his own corporate finance advisory house.

Invest AD marks shift in strategy for SWFs

The re-launch of Abu Dhabi Investment Company (ADIC) as Invest AD, an asset manager for third-party funds, marks an interesting shift in strategy for the region’s sovereign wealth funds.

DCM May round-up: sovereigns strong, corporates returning

The EMEA debt capital markets re-opened in May, with new issuance particularly strong  in the sovereign sector, as investors re-gained their appetite for emerging market issuance.

Latvian PM to axe government spending

The newly-appointed prime minister of Latvia, Valdis Dombrovskis, says his government is prepared to cut government spending by up to 40% in order to reduce the budget deficit and meet IMF austerity measures.

Kremlin looks to capitalise on the crunch in former USSR

There are signs that the Kremlin is looking to capitalise on the relative economic weakness of its neighbours to expand its influence in the region.

Abu Dhabi and Qatar lead way for EM bond issues

Bankers are hoping renewed Eurobond issuance from emerging market sovereigns like Abu Dhabi and Qatar will open the door for EMEA corporate bond issues.

emeafinance announces Africa banking award winners

emeafinance has announced the winners of its inaugural Africa banking awards. The awards recognise the best banks throughout Africa, over the last exciting 12 months for the continent.
The awards generated a great response, with banks from all over Africa sending in submissions. emeafinance chose the winners based on key indicators such as market share, key deals, strategy, profitability, return on equity, and cost/income ratio.
You can read a full write-up of the awards here.
The winners are:

Ukraine’s economy falters as government collapses (again)

Ukraine’s most recent political crisis couldn’t have come at a worse time, as banks go bankrupt and investors lose faith in Ukrainian debt.

Sovereign wealth funds face the limelight

Having been caught in a blizzard of media and regulatory attention in the first half of 2008, sovereign wealth funds are taking steps to try and improve their public image, including agreeing to a voluntary code of conduct in September, reports Julian Evans.

For decades, sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) have been operating quietly in the shadows of the global financial system, with minimal fuss or publicity, buying minority stakes in western assets, and rarely even taking seats on the boards of companies they invested in. But that all changed in the last 12 months, when SWFs suddenly became the hot topic of the western financial media.

'We didn’t want this war'

In March, Georgia’s Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze told emeafinance that the issue of the separatist provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia would be resolved “in the next few months”. Instead, the question of the sovereignty of those territories exploded in August, when a bold Georgian bid to reclaim sovereignty over South Ossetia backfired, and led to Russian troops invading and occupying large areas of Georgian territory. The troops are, at the time of writing, still there. So was the war a failure, and how is the economy recovering? emeafinance speaks exclusively to Prime Minister Gurgenidze about the aftermath of the war.

The cost of war

In August, the first war for a decade took place in Europe, as Russia invaded Georgian territory. Since then, Russia has faced its worst financial crisis since the 1998 debt default. emeafinance editor Julian Evans looks at the economic costs for Russia of its military adventure in Georgia.

The Russian government has a siege mentality right now. A government official tells me a story: “I overheard two senior members of the government talking to each other in September. One of them said ‘you know, if this situation gets worse, we might not even be able to visit the west. No holidays in the south of France, no British schools for our kids, no visits to see Chelsea play in London.”

Turkey struggles to meet targets

Positive reasons for investing in Turkish sovereign debt are becoming more difficult to find these days. However, yields are on the increase and years of fiscal discipline have greatly reduced the risk of default, writes Bernard Kennedy.

One by one, Turkey has been losing its ‘stories’. First, five years of GDP growth averaging 7.5% gave way to a more modest performance of 4.5% in 2007, reflecting higher interest rates, a downturn in housing and construction and a poor agricultural harvest. Then, rising global energy and food prices helped to revive inflation, which had fallen to 6.9% as of July 2007, its lowest level for over three decades. By May 2008, consumer prices had reached 10.7% and were set to rise further, forcing the central bank to postpone its 4% year-end target until 2012.