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LATEST ARTICLES
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The investment firm founded by securitization experts in 2015 has grown to an $8 billion portfolio of 60 companies without managing any third-party funds and still sees big potential returns, notably in football clubs, from applying the discipline of structured finance to operating businesses.
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A new study attempts to quantify the damage of 2022 for sovereign wealth funds. Beneath the numbers are tumultuous levels of deal activity, as funds tried to take advantage and position for the long term.
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Sovereign wealth and pension funds have poured into private and illiquid asset classes over the last 10 years.
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Last week’s financial summit aimed to show investors Hong Kong is open for business. While well attended, it also served as a reminder of how closed off the financial hub has become and how much of its lustre has been lost.
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Qatar has spent 12 years and more than $200 billion preparing for the World Cup, which kicks off on November 20. What happens when the games end and the tourists leave?
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New trading protocols offer some hope that investors may find the other side of the trade, but turnover in normally liquid bonds can suddenly collapse.
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Groups such as Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, CDPQ and British Columbia Investment were forerunners in the development of new private-market asset classes, particularly infrastructure. Euromoney traces the evolution of the funds’ approaches and scale to the point where they are desired partners for private assets worldwide.
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Plans to incentivize foreign capital aim to boost capacity, with a new internal ‘investment bank’ to drive growing pipeline.
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A Singapore-based investment vehicle fronted by former Commonwealth Bank of Australia CFO Rob Jesudason aims to invest in financial disruptors that will complement the industry without reinventing it.
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Douglas Flint, former HSBC chair and current chairman of Abrdn, talks to Euromoney about climate change, his hope for the future and how he convinced CEO Stephen Bird to join the firm over fish and chips and a pint in an Edinburgh pub.
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Opening up personal and small business loans as an asset class for retail investors brings rewards as well as the obvious risks.
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Fintechs are caught in a brutal competitive squeeze between losses on businesses they are good at and the urgent need to offer new ones.
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Private equity has been slow to join the ESG revolution. More firms are waking up to the opportunities on offer as well as the downside risks.
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The UK has been hit by Brexit as well as the pandemic, making for poor returns and a weaker recovery. UBS argues that this allows investors to buy while it is cheap.
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East Capital co-founder Karine Hirn began her investing career in Russia in the 1990s before moving to China to head up the firm’s Asian expansion. She discusses the challenges of the Chinese market, why eastern Europe has the edge on corporate boards and why governance is key to ESG.
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There are interesting titbits on Africa, private debt and renewable energy at the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund.
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The Public Investment Fund is unrecognizable from the sleepy vehicle it was until 2015. More risk has led to some bad investments, but the crown prince says overall returns are good. Can they stay that way?
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China’s asset management industry barely existed 20 years ago. By 2030 it will be the world’s second largest. There are myriad ways for foreign firms to get it right – or horribly wrong. Here are Euromoney’s precepts for a better chance of winning – and avoiding failure.
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Environmental, social and governance investors can lend out their securities, but greater communication and transparency is needed for it to work.
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What can we learn from the China Investment Corporation’s latest numbers, which cover the year prior to Covid?
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Environmental, social and governance factors are financially material and the time for debate is over – unless you’re Trump.
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Faced with an estimated $100 billion budget deficit but committed to a vast expenditure programme, Saudi finance minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan explains how he plans to balance the books.
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The government’s resignation this week could pave the way for reform – and unlock essential IMF funding – but is the will to change there?
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The sovereign wealth fund is withdrawing to cash, has seen a once-in-a-generation drawdown and is positioning defensively.
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A new Euromoney podcast series traces the relationship between space and the private sector, from the early Cold War state-funded model of Apollo to one in which venture capital backs the most interesting and visionary ideas.
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Alternative data can tell in near real time the story of economic and financial market disruption now playing out, but asset managers need artificial intelligence to read it.
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Bronte Capital’s John Hempton takes a unique approach to finding the stocks he wants to short; it has given him a cult following in his native Australia and beyond.
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Private lending vehicles that are structured to maximize fees are looking dangerously fragile, and mismarking of asset values could spark legal disputes.
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Euromoney's latest coverage of black gold.
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Expo 2020 showcases economic and business opportunities in Dubai. Bankers hope it will lead to a boom in areas such as SME lending and infrastructure investment, but worry that a short-term lift will not be enough to dispel broader concerns about the country’s economy.
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A snack food firm from Wuhan has completed its $70 million IPO in Shanghai, the first out of the gate since Chinese New Year. Its canny bankers helped get regulatory approval by promising to fund the fight to stem the epidemic.
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As birth rates fall and the UAE government looks at ways to spur population growth, private equity firms see opportunities in IVF.
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Dealmakers are optimistic about a pick-up in large deals and outbound M&A from Europe this year, but the need for regional consolidation is more urgent.
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The asset manager has decided to pull investment from firms that don’t make sufficient progress on ESG disclosure while it routinely votes against climate-related shareholder resolutions itself.
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Mindspace hopes to raise more than $150 million in IPO slated for the end of March; more Reit sales to follow in Mumbai during the next 18 months.
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Partnership with digital investor platform is the latest move by bank’s Sprint fintech team.
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Ethiopia’s IMF deal is a notable step towards addressing its external imbalances and to opening up the country’s economy.
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Itaú retains 49% stake, now equivalent to 10% of the group’s market cap, as rapid growth leads to runaway valuation.
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The first deal under new 19C listing rules will raise $12.9 billion if greenshoe is exercised.
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The Italian fashion house’s sustainability linked loan, arranged by Crédit Agricole, builds the catwalk for other retailers to follow suit.
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Kenya’s parliament passes a law to lift an interest rate cap that has hampered credit growth and economic development, in a move that may pave the way to a new agreement with the IMF.
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New proposals by the SEC have shaken the investor community, threatening the ability of smaller shareholders to file resolutions and potentially preventing ESG issues from being heard.
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Saudi Aramco’s intention to list aims to clear up any doubts wealth managers may have about investing on behalf of women, but it also draws attention to the fact that, despite reforms, the full inclusion of women in Saudi society is still a distant reality.
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Partnership with Ellen MacArthur Foundation aims to raise awareness of circular opportunity in financial sector.
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When renewables private equity group Equis Energy was sold to GIP for $5 billion – $3.7 billion of it equity – investors walked away with well over double their initial investment. The founders of Equis made around $800 million. But why was more than $500 million of the proceeds ringfenced into a vehicle called Equis Renewables, in which the underlying investors did not participate, while the general partners got it all? The story of how those assets got there casts a light on the curious inner workings of modern private equity.
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As in financial advisory, so too in asset management: data scientists are the new talents Lazard is seeking to bring in alongside its portfolio managers and analysts.
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Advocating ESG while investing in one of the world’s largest oil companies is an uneasy truth.
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The locals in Brazil are enjoying their home-field investment banking advantage.
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The gradual erosion of institutional credibility could prove more damaging to Turkey than economic and political shocks.
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Israel has become one of the world’s most important fintech hubs, attracting millions in investment from some of the biggest global brands and venture capital funds. Can its start-up culture now evolve to grow large fintech businesses at home?
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Former DWS head could shake up captive fund model after Flint’s exit.
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Investors should focus on collection and recycling to have the greatest impact in targeting plastic waste.
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OUE real-estate investment trust (Reit) merger follows Viva-ESR; hope is to create better liquidity in stocks.
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Last year was key in the development of one of Oceania’s more unexplored yet potential-rich economies. Its inaugural $500 million sovereign dollar bond caught light and its hosting of the APEC Summit was a hit. The country now needs investment to unlock myriad opportunities in agriculture, power, infrastructure, telecoms, financial services and tourism.
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As part of Euromoney's 50th anniversary coverage, we profile some of the biggest names that we interviewed for our May Asia focus.
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The investment landscape is shifting rapidly as falling returns on sovereign fixed income assets force investors to look elsewhere for returns. Retail investors in particular are playing an important role in the transformation of local capital markets.
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The 100-day mark of Brazil’s new president, Jair Bolsonaro, has recently passed; no one – not even the government itself – pretended the time had been well spent.
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TNC aims for $1.6 billion impact of blue bonds by 2025; Morgan Stanley commits to financing plastic reduction for oceans.
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The pieces are starting to shift on the board of Chinese investment banking. There have been signs of progress, frustration and new strategy since last April’s announcement that foreigners would be allowed to take majority stakes in securities joint ventures on the mainland.
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CEO says bank liquidity and lavish social spending hamper capital markets development.
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India’s first real estate investment trust is being fast-tracked to IPO before the end of February. Bankers expect the primary offering to raise more than $1 billion, giving a much-needed fillip to the country’s capital markets.
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Before it sets off into Africa, the international financial institution needs to look to its roots.
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In 2018, Montenegro was named as one of the countries most at risk from over-indebtedness to China for the €809 million Bar-Boljare highway, dubbed a ‘road to nowhere’, but in Podgorica, enthusiasm for the project is still running high.
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After a few years of underperformance, India’s property market is back on form. Prices are rising in commercial and residential real estate, with demand driven in large part by inward investment from blue-chip US corporates. The next big step is listed onshore real estate investment trusts, set to hit the market in 2019.
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When Sri Lanka, a key link in the Belt and Road Initiative, sold China a deep-water port in exchange for debt alleviation, it raised eyebrows around the world – yet Colombo continues to borrow from Beijing even as its fiscal situation worsens.
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China’s Belt and Road Initiative is trumpeted as a ‘win-win’ for all, but is it everything it’s cracked up to be? Or are countries on its route, wary of Beijing’s motives and fearful of being trapped by debt to China’s big development banks, losing faith in the plan?
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Warning sirens are sounding about the level of debt Djibouti owes to China for Belt and Road projects. The local view is that they need the money and China is the country that is offering it. But the fate of the Djibouti-Addis Ababa railway represents the financial challenges of BRI in a 756-kilometre microcosm.
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The continent is implementing the African Continental Free Trade Agreement to boost intra-regional trade, economic growth and industrialization, but can 54 countries overcome so many obstacles and ratify the agreement?
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At the tail end of 2018, banks still seem to be a long way from equality.
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New African Capital Partners’ (NACP) first investment target is a large, regional banking group, co-founder Charles Kie tells Euromoney in his first interview since the launch.
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$2.4 billion in dedicated mandates; expectations to reach $20 billion to $30 billion by 2023.
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Roll-up acquisitions help to floor high-yield fundraising.
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Santiago Peña helped secure Paraguay’s relentless upward trajectory while minister of finance – now he has switched to the private sector and has the perfect perspective to judge the outlook for the Mercosur countries.
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Vast infrastructure initiative taking shape, minister says; insists PPP will be used, not just Chinese soft loans.
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Research, research and more research is needed for investors to navigate the complex world of ESG and SDG investing.
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Natixis surveys large institutional investors and produces framework to avoid ‘SDG-washing’.
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Larger family offices are taking on the private equity firms as they focus on investing directly.
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SC Ventures launched in Singapore; combines internal accelerator with venture capital.
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A Greenwich investor survey projects continuing growth in fixed income ETFs as the likely response to deteriorating bond market liquidity.
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Slower growth is translating into lower government spending on infrastructure. With an estimated funding deficit of $40 billion a year, private-sector solutions from Africa’s home-grown pension fund industry as well as international insurance firms could help plug the gap.
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Even though the banking sector remains off-limits, foreign investment in other state-owned enterprises will support infrastructure development.
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Finally, some progress in Indonesian infrastructure – but familiar battles remain.
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Impact investing would seem an unlikely business for avaricious private equity funds. But many are embracing what they see as a new opportunity. Should we be sceptical or see private equity’s buy-in as proof of the impact investment concept?
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Can Kazakhstan create an international financial centre in the middle of the steppes or is it just the latest central Asian pipe dream?
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Investors hoping new president adopts pragmatic approach; proposed referendum raises more questions than answers.
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A fintech headed by veterans of algorithmic trading in equities aims to transform unregulated gold trading as a pure agency broker.
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Italy flows up despite populists’ impact on bond yields; warns of peak debt across the West
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The first refugee investment impact bond is poised to launch in 2019.
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Euromoney's recent coverage of the eurozone crisis focuses on the macroeconomic, political and banking sector fallout.
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Euromoney's recent coverage of the hard and soft commodities sector, with a special focus on emerging markets.
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To expect impact investment to be of greater size now than it is would be to miss the point of it altogether.
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As the oceans reach a crisis point, private capital must be deployed to fund sustainable solutions. Given that the seas are equivalent to the world’s seventh largest economy, finance is more aligned with the deep than has been previously recognized. A handful of bankers and investment managers are leading the way, but success will require a collective effort from across the financial industry.
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Managed marine protected areas are an effective tool in coastal ocean conservation. They are also ripe to be included in investment structures. The upsides for everyone may help push the protected area of the world’s seas from 2% to 30% by 2030.
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In April Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte took a characteristically drastic step. He closed Boracay. It is an indication of the environmental threat from marine pollution. Can the private sector help clean up the seas?
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Private-sector investors are taking their first tentative steps into sustainable fisheries projects. Alignment of interests and investment returns look good on paper, but there are many practical issues that need to be addressed before radical transformation can occur.
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As international financiers rush into Saudi Arabia, they are asking if the Kingdom can deliver on its grand promises.
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Khorgos, a new state-of-the-art port in the middle of the Kazakh desert, sums up the grand ambitions of the Belt and Road Initiative. But it is as much driven and funded by Kazakhstan as it is by China. Rather than being a white elephant, it has real implications for trade.
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Asset management is the hottest sub-sector in FIG investment banking in Europe. Even banks with successful in-house asset managers are thinking hard how to adapt, and must act fast.
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Why aren’t firms putting their money where Xi Jinping’s mouth is?
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Have the vision. Create the plan. Go and do it.
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Trade finance has emerged as an asset class with appeal for institutional buyers, but needs to have some issues ironed out before it becomes palatable to a broad investor base.
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Talk of exchange-traded funds offering exposure to additional tier-1 debt may not be as worrying as it sounds
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CEO has broader ambitions as firm turns 10; impact investing still modest in Asia but growing.
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Lack of regional liquidity cited as reason for NY IPO listings; strong pipeline in Brazil being dominated by more traditional companies.
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The 2017 US proxy voting season was historic: the world’s two largest asset managers backed shareholder resolutions on climate-risk disclosure. BlackRock and Vanguard, with $10 trillion in AuM between them, are becoming more transparent about their voting. They will play a crucial role in the future of ESG.
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An investment company linked to one of Iran’s largest investment banks failed to publicly disclose its focus on Iran when it listed on NEX Exchange, though it always intended to invest primarily in that country.
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WisdomTree Investments is the latest acquirer of an ETF specialist looking to boost its credentials in smart beta, even as analysts urge end-investors to question the validity of this new so-called asset class.
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Markets buoyed by win that eases path for further reforms; all eyes on investment boost needed for gradual fiscal adjustment.
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While foundations may be known for their giving, their investment portfolios lack creativity when it comes to solving environmental and social challenges. Some are taking their missions further.
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Currency devaluations and swings in commodity prices have taken their toll on many a private equity investment in Africa in recent years, particularly for those who invested at the height of the Africa bull market between 2005 and 2013. These days, sponsors are picking their targets carefully, with a focus on domestic consumers and non-commodity exporters.
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Norway’s sovereign wealth fund has decided to steer clear of corporate bonds, which will help it to avoid the reputational traps that loom for some other large investors.
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President Mauricio Macri’s economic inheritance was toxic; his policy of gradual fiscal realignment looks like it will lead to success in this year’s crucial mid-term elections, but the country desperately needs investment to maintain the transition.
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The first tangible progress in Belt and Road infrastructure can be seen in Pakistan. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has been valued at $62 billion of projects, from the seaport in Gwadar to the reconstruction of the Karakoram Highway across the Himalayas to the Chinese border.
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Policy bank money is fine, to a point, but if China really wants an infrastructure plan to change the world, it is going to need private sector money to join the party. It is going to need names like Macquarie, historically thought of as an investment bank (which it still is), but today also one of the world’s largest infrastructure investors.
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The Belt and Road Initiative offers much to the disparate markets of the Middle East and Africa, but not all those countries seem so enthusiastic in return.
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BRI may be hard to define, but it is already working wonders in parts of a region crying out for good infrastructure. Global and regional lenders are happy to go along for the ride.
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Chinese policymakers and firms are showing an increasing interest in central and eastern Europe – but will Beijing’s ambitious plans for infrastructure development put China on a collision course with the EU?
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It falls to analysts like Alexious Lee, head of China industrial research at CLSA, to make sense of the vast scope and long-term themes of Belt and Road. Lee heads CLSA’s research coverage of Belt and Road and public-private partnerships, assisting clients seeking access to China for projects related to the new Silk Road.
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At the vanguard of the funding effort for the Belt and Road Initiative will be China’s state-owned commercial banks. All eyes are upon them and their lending practices. Will they be expected to pour funds into projects with a tenuous economic rationale in the interests of state policy? Or will they instead be able to assess BRI projects as they would any other enterprise, with a weighing up of risk and return and a commercial decision at the end of it?