Central and eastern Europe's leading institutions have been quick to praise UniCredit's acquisition of HVB, which creates the region's biggest bank. But, they warn, it had better stay on its toes, as rivals will look to profit from any loss of focus that the alliance brings.

Iranian shipping company NITC is a rarity: it's one of the few non-oil and gas companies in the Islamic Republic seeking funds in the international markets.

The woman who has run the central bank since 2000 has overseen reform of the exchange rate, the capital markets and the banking industry. With her encouragement the country has also become a hub for Islamic finance.

%3CBODY%3E%3Cul%3E%0D%0A%09%09%3Cli%3E%0D%0A%09%09%09%3Cstrong%3EChina%20pushes%20into%20North%20America%20%u2013%20again%3C/strong%3E%0D%0A%09%09%3C/li%3E%0D%0A%09%3C/ul%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cp%3E%0D%0A%20%20Not%20to%20be%20put%20off%20by%20Chinese%20oil%20major%20CNOOC%27s%20failure%20to%20seize%20control%20of%20US%20oil%20company%20Unocal%2C%20China%20National%20Petroleum%20Corporation%2C%20China%27s%20biggest%20state-owned%20oil%20company%2C%20paid%20%244.18%20billion%20to%20acquire%20Canadian%20oil%20company%20PetroKazakhstan%2C%20a%2020%25%20premium%20to%20where%20the%20stock%20was%20trading.%20The%20company%27s%20shares%20are%20traded%20in%20New%20York%20and%20its%20oil%20fields%20are%20in%20the%20north%20of%20Kazakhstan.%0D%0A%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cp%3E%0D%0A%20%20The%20deal%20has%20to%20be%20approved%20by%20the%20Kazakh%20government%2C%20and%20could%20be%20scuppered%20by%20a%20counter-bid.%20However%2C%20if%20it%20is%20successfully%20completed%2C%20it%20will%20be%20the%20largest%20overseas%20acquisition%20to%20date%20by%20a%20Chinese%20company.%20CNOOC%20withdrew%20its%20%2418.5%20billion%20offer%20for%20Unocal%20at%20the%20beginning%20of%20August%20after%20strong%20opposition%20from%20the%20US%20government.%0D%0A%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cp%3E%0D%0A%20%20%A0%0D%0A%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cul%3E%0D%0A%09%09%3Cli%3E%0D%0A%09%09%09%3Cstrong%3ETakeover%20Panel%27s%20new%20director%3C/strong%3E%0D%0A%09%09%3C/li%3E%0D%0A%09%3C/ul%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cp%3E%0D%0A%20%20Mark%20Warham%2C%20head%20of%20UK%20mergers%20and%20acquisitions%20at%20Morgan%20Stanley%2C%20has%20been%20chosen%20to%20be%20the%20next%20director%20of%20the%20Takeover%20Panel%2C%20the%20body%20that%20regulates%20M%26A%20activity%20in%20the%20UK.%0D%0A%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cp%3E%0D%0A%20%20He%20will%20take%20a%20two-year%20secondment%20from%20Morgan%20Stanley%20to%20take%20up%20the%20new%20role%20at%20the%20end%20of%20November.%20He%20is%20the%20first%20Morgan%20Stanley%20banker%20to%20hold%20the%20post%2C%20replacing%20Richard%20Murley%20of%20Goldman%20Sachs.%0D%0A%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cp%3E%0D%0A%20%20%A0%0D%0A%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cul%3E%0D%0A%09%09%3Cli%3E%0D%0A%09%09%09%3Cstrong%3EGMAC%20sells%2060%25%20of%20its%20mortgages%3C/strong%3E%0D%0A%09%09%3C/li%3E%0D%0A%09%3C/ul%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cp%3E%0D%0A%20%20GMAC%2C%20the%20finance%20subsidiary%20of%20General%20Motors%2C%20has%20announced%20that%20it%20will%20sell%2060%25%20of%20its%20commercial%20mortgage%20business%2C%20GMAC%20Commercial%20Holding%20Corporation%2C%20to%20private-equity%20groups%20KKR%2C%20Five%20Mile%20Capital%20Partners%20and%20Goldman%20Sachs%20Capital%20Partners.%20GMACCH%20wants%20an%20independent%20credit%20rating%2C%20superior%20to%20that%20of%20its%20parent%2C%20to%20give%20it%20access%20to%20cheaper%20funding.%0D%0A%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%3C/BODY%3E%0D%0A

Six-month paper will help investors diversify Shariah-compliant portfolios

From quiet beginnings as one of the world's smallest states, Qatar has emerged as a regional player as a result of shrewd investment in natural gas and sound economic management. Although oil and gas revenues still account for about 60% of GDP, the non-oil sector grew by 10.8% last year, and the financial sector is performing particularly strongly.

Sabic's upcoming $267 million Shariah-compliant domestic bond should set the pattern for issuance in a Saudi market that has seen little corporate paper up to now.

As tensions mount between Iran and the west over the Islamic state's nuclear ambitions, Tehran seems to be adopting an Ostpolitik, looking to China and India for political and energy ties. Opec's second-largest oil producer, which also has the world's second-biggest gas reserves, is wooing Asia's fast-growing and energy-hungry economies.

"A bratwürst made from tofu? This I am not prepared to discuss!"

Mifid promises to shake up EU financial markets in a way that will make Big Bang look like a gentle nudge. To have any hope of meeting the implementation deadline of April 2007 investment banks might need to set aside as much as $12 million each in their 2006 budgets. Peter Koh examines the fallout

Movers and shakers

New Dealogic data reveals the must-have private-equity clients – the ones that spend the most on investment banking fees

With valuation problems worsening, one US bank CFO thinks the major UK banks are becoming more appealing

Platform adds five currency pairs to boost its regional offering

China's currency revaluation is more evolution than revolution but will have a number of knock-on effects

Banks and listed property companies are finding ways to respond to interest in international investments

There's a lot of money to be made from the beautiful game. Deloitte's football money league shows that the top 20 football clubs in the world are set to break the £2 billion ($3.6 billion) income mark in 2005, for example. Germany's GNP is set to grow by €8 billion as a result of hosting the 2006 World Cup, and about 500 advertisers are set to spend €7 billion to enhance the branding of their products. According to VAT reclaims company Lowendal UK, an estimated €15 million will be spent on sponsorship events during the World Cup.

Equity managers in Europe, Japan and Asia might benefit from swapping stocks for convertibles

UK retail investors to get easy access to IPOs again

Fund management AXA Investment Managers has acquired Framlington Group from HSBC and Comerica for £174 million. The deal adds about £4 billion to AXA's £52 billion ($93.5 billion) in UK assets under management, and puts an end to rumours that AXA IM was considering scaling down its UK business.

Banks offering real estate investment trusts

S&P lists the top 100 companies in the PRC, the 10 largest accounting for 56% of total revenues

The latest target of the hedge fund activist is Time Warner

The Chicago exchange aims to make currency option trading easier, bridging the gap between the cash and exchange markets

A new family of volatility indices that will track the Dax, Stoxx, and SMI equity indices will launch this September.

A recent survey by US law firm White and Case throws light on the overseas ambitions of China's larger companies. According to 80 Chinese business leaders, Asia is the most popular destination for overseas expansion, with more than 75% of companies looking there. That compares with 50% of Chinese companies looking at the US and 44% in Europe. Other regions of interest include eastern Europe. Latin America and Africa

Russia's domestic wealth management industry has a long way to go

Persistent rumours are circulating in China that mainland authorities are likely to auction off a controlling interest in state-owned Guangdong Development Bank. Although unconfirmed, if the rumours prove accurate the GDB sale could presage the start of the true privatization of China's banking sector.

Shorting scoop picked up

Investors should look beyond speculating on further renminbi moves and consider equity in the broader region

There are signals from Korea that the government and regulators are taking an increasingly tough line with foreign participants in the local markets.

Studying the birth chart of the US shows planetary patterns coinciding with upheavals and depressions in the country's history – and in his new book, Robert Gover predicts a decade of depression ahead. Helen Avery looks at this alternative approach.

The experience of the high-yield sector shows synthetic risk can boost an illiquid product

The suspension by the World Bank of a loan to Ecuador should concern the world's poorer countries

Flexibility is the watchword as the UK regulator clarifies its guidelines on capital ratios

Far from bowing to international pressure, China's renminbi revaluation shows it is firmly in control of its own destiny

Mandated offerings, rather than auctions, offer the best chance for a successful sale

As Kazakhstan prepares for an election, foreign institutions should remember that autocrats are of little benefit to investments in the long run

Strategic buyers are getting increasingly bullish about M&A opportunities. So far this year, though, they haven't stolen any of the thunder of financial sponsors

Alpha-driven US volume growth starts to outpace that in UK

CFOs are in danger of becoming slaves of the leveraging cycle. It might be in their best interests to resist bankers' blandishments

What are shareholders to do? Sit back and allow the board to make obvious mistakes and lose them money? Or use their rights as shareholders to make the board take notice and maybe make some money? Dysfunctional corporate management has had too easy a ride from institutional investors.

Jumbo dollar bond provides rare natural gas exposure for corporate investors

The bid for plain-vanilla government/public sector debt professionals continues. BNP Paribas has plucked Heidi Crebo-Rediker from Bear Stearns to join its sovereigns, agencies and supranationals desk as a managing director. Crebo-Rediker reports to Chris Marks and is a long-overdue replacement for the vivacious Alex Corley Smith, who decamped to the New York office several months back. BNP Paribas also appointed product expert Jacques Delpla to work in its Paris office. Delpla worked most recently as an adviser in the French finance ministry but was previously also a fixed-income specialist at Barclays Capital in France.

Eksportfinans hopes funding costs will plummet if online execution of structured products grows popular

The regulator's guidelines for UK issuers could have far-reaching benefits for Europe's covered bond markets

Would you credit it? European central banks looking for yield could soon start investing in credit, if market speculation is correct. Traditionally deeply conservative accounts that have never got into equities, they certainly face the same dilemma as other fixed-income investors. Yields on government and other AAA bonds are low and FX trading opportunities in Europe are limited these days, so credit is one of the few ways to generate positive returns. "They all own some gold, and they're earning very small returns on that," says a London-based credit analyst. A logical strategy would be to start looking at corporate bonds, bank capital, or even ABS – aided, no doubt, by helpful asset managers. Switzerland's Schweizerische Nationalbank has been investing part of its currency reserves in foreign equities and corporate bonds since June 2004, partly as a response to falling yields on 10-year Swiss Confederation bonds.

As customers become increasingly sophisticated in trading FX options, banks and other providers are enhancing electronic offerings to tap new markets

%3CBODY%3E%3Cul%3E%0D%0A%09%09%3Cli%3E%0D%0A%09%09%09%3Cstrong%3ELiberia%3A%20striking%20out%20for%20peace%3C/strong%3E%0D%0A%09%09%3C/li%3E%0D%0A%09%3C/ul%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cp%3E%0D%0A%20%20He%27s%20more%20used%20to%20terrorizing%20opposing%20team%27s%20defences%20than%20mixing%20with%20world%20leaders%20but%20if%20George%20Weah%20has%20his%20way%20he%20will%20soon%20be%20on%20a%20par%20with%20George%20W%20Bush%20and%20Tony%20Blair.%20The%20former%20World%20Footballer%20of%20the%20Year%20is%20standing%20as%20president%20of%20Liberia%20and%20has%20a%20good%20chance%20of%20winning.%0D%0A%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cp%3E%0D%0A%20%20The%20former%20Milan%20and%20Manchester%20City%20striker%20is%20one%20of%20two%20candidates%20leading%20the%20race%20to%20October%27s%20presidential%20poll%2C%20Liberia%27s%20first%20since%2014%20years%20of%20civil%20war%20came%20to%20an%20end%20in%202003.%20The%2039-year-old%20is%20running%20against%20former%20World%20Banker%20Ellen%20Johnson%20Sirleaf%2C%20who%20is%20bidding%20to%20make%20history%20by%20becoming%20the%20first%20woman%20to%20lead%20an%20African%20country.%0D%0A%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cul%3E%0D%0A%09%09%3Cli%3E%0D%0A%09%09%09%3Cstrong%3ECameroon%3A%20anyone%20for%20a%20beer%3F%3C/strong%3E%0D%0A%09%09%3C/li%3E%0D%0A%09%3C/ul%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cp%3E%0D%0A%20%20The%20people%20of%20Cameroon%20are%20buying%20goods%20with%20a%20novel%20currency%20%u2013%20beer%20bottle%20caps%20%u2013%20as%20consumers%20take%20advantage%20of%20a%20marketing%20ploy%20by%20rival%20breweries.%20Beer%20firms%20are%20enticing%20customers%20by%20selling%20bottles%20with%20caps%20that%20have%20stickers%20underneath%20them%20revealing%20prizes.%20These%20include%20mobile%20phones%2C%20luxury%20cars%20and%20more%20beer.%20As%20beer%20costs%20%241%20some%20people%20are%20using%20the%20tops%20to%20pay%20for%20taxi%20rides%20and%20other%20goods.%0D%0A%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cp%3E%0D%0A%20%20No%20wonder%20Cameroon%20has%20one%20of%20the%20highest%20alcohol%20consumption%20rates%20in%20Africa.%0D%0A%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%3C/BODY%3E%0D%0A

This month, Euromoney seeks to debunk two of the great myths of the international financial markets.

Finance minister says the government is will keep the purse strings tight as it reforms taxation, banking regulation and bankruptcy law

European borrowers make peso bonds hot new instrument

%3CBODY%3E%3Cul%3E%0D%0A%09%09%3Cli%3E%0D%0A%09%09%09%3Cstrong%3EGovernance%20glitch%3C/strong%3E%0D%0A%09%09%3C/li%3E%0D%0A%09%3C/ul%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cp%3E%0D%0A%20%20Singapore%20is%20often%20held%20out%20as%20a%20beacon%20of%20good%20corporate%20governance%20and%20sound%20international%20management%20practice%20in%20Asia.%20So%20a%20recent%20survey%20of%20corporate%20governance%20among%20listed%20companies%20in%20Singapore%20makes%20for%20slightly%20alarming%20reading.%0D%0A%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cp%3E%0D%0A%20%20Conducted%20by%20the%20Corporate%20Governance%20and%20Financial%20Reporting%20Centre%20of%20the%20National%20University%20of%20Singapore%20Business%20School%20and%20commissioned%20by%20Jardine%20Lloyd%20Thompson%2C%20the%20survey%20polled%2078%20listed%20companies%20from%20the%20Lion%20City%2C%20two-fifths%20of%20which%20admitted%20to%20having%20no%20system%20in%20place%20for%20identifying%20and%20managing%20risks.%20A%20majority%20of%20the%20companies%20polled%20also%20believed%20that%20more%20needed%20to%20be%20done%20to%20improve%20corporate%20governance%20standards%20in%20Singapore.%0D%0A%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cp%3E%0D%0A%20%20%A0%0D%0A%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cul%3E%0D%0A%09%09%3Cli%3E%0D%0A%09%09%09%3Cstrong%3EYahoo%20turns%20Chinese%3C/strong%3E%0D%0A%09%09%3C/li%3E%0D%0A%09%3C/ul%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cp%3E%0D%0A%20%20Internet%20giant%20Yahoo%20has%20announced%20a%20strategic%20investment%20in%20mainland%20Chinese%20e-commerce%2C%20search%20and%20messaging%20platform%20Alibaba.%20The%20deal%20involves%20Yahoo%20handing%20over%20all%20its%20existing%20China%20businesses%20to%20Alibaba%20together%20with%20%241%20billion%20cash%20in%20exchange%20for%20a%2040%25%20stake.%20The%20deal%20is%20a%20tacit%20acknowledgement%20by%20Yahoo%20that%20its%20previous%20strategy%20for%20the%20mainland%20market%20was%20not%20making%20the%20headway%20it%20had%20hoped%20for.%20By%20adopting%20a%20strategy%20similar%20to%20that%20successfully%20deployed%20in%20Japan%2C%20where%20Yahoo%20teamed%20up%20with%20local%20partner%20Softbank%2C%20the%20company%20hopes%20it%20will%20attain%20a%20more%20Chinese%20identity.%20This%20is%20more%20likely%20to%20appeal%20to%20China%27s%20burgeoning%20internet%20population%2C%20which%20prefers%20homegrown%20online%20platforms.%0D%0A%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cp%3E%0D%0A%20%20%A0%0D%0A%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cul%3E%0D%0A%09%09%3Cli%3E%0D%0A%09%09%09%3Cstrong%3EIndian%20growth%3C/strong%3E%0D%0A%09%09%3C/li%3E%0D%0A%09%3C/ul%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cp%3E%0D%0A%20%20India%27s%20economy%20will%20grow%207%25%20in%20the%20fiscal%20year%20ending%20next%20March%2C%20the%20government%20forecasts.%20Prime%20minister%20Manmohan%20Singh%20said%20that%20if%20India%20could%20sustain%20this%20growth%20rate%20over%20the%20next%20decade%20it%20would%20be%20able%20to%20wipe%20out%20poverty.%20To%20that%20end%2C%20he%20added%20that%20the%20government%20would%20increase%20spending%20on%20public%20works%20to%20maintain%20strong%20growth.%0D%0A%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%3C/BODY%3E%0D%0A

%3CBODY%3E%3Cul%3E%0D%0A%09%09%3Cli%3E%0D%0A%09%09%09%3Cstrong%3EHugo%20Ch%E1vez%20watch%3C/strong%3E%0D%0A%09%09%3C/li%3E%0D%0A%09%3C/ul%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cp%3E%0D%0A%20%20%22We%20have%20the%20ability%20to%20take%20him%20out%2C%20and%20I%20think%20the%20time%20has%20come%20that%20we%20exercise%20that%20ability.%22%0D%0A%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cp%3E%0D%0A%09%09%3Cem%3EUS%20fundamentalist%20Christian%20broadcaster%20Pat%20Robertson%20takes%20a%20charitable%20view%20of%20Venezuelan%20president%20Hugo%20Ch%E1vez%3C/em%3E%0D%0A%09%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cp%3E%0D%0A%20%20%A0%0D%0A%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cul%3E%0D%0A%09%09%3Cli%3E%0D%0A%09%09%09%3Cstrong%3EBrazil%3A%20Palocci%20denies%20allegations%3C/strong%3E%0D%0A%09%09%3C/li%3E%0D%0A%09%3C/ul%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cp%3E%0D%0A%20%20Finance%20minister%20Antonio%20Palocci%20denied%20he%20had%20received%20bribes%20when%20he%20was%20mayor%20of%20a%20city%20in%20southeastern%20Brazil%20in%20the%201990s.%20Palocci%20was%20responding%20to%20accusations%20made%20by%20lawyer%20Rogerio%20Buratti%20that%20he%20received%20backhanders%20from%20waste-collection%20contracts%20when%20he%20was%20mayor%20of%20Ribeir%E3o%20Preto%20in%20S%E3o%20Paulo%20state.%20Palocci%20is%20the%20latest%20official%20to%20become%20embroiled%20in%20a%20series%20of%20corruption%20scandals%20that%20have%20gripped%20Brazil%20in%20the%20past%20few%20months.%20So%20far%20four%20aides%20close%20to%20president%20Lula%20have%20resigned.%0D%0A%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cp%3E%0D%0A%20%20%A0%0D%0A%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cul%3E%0D%0A%09%09%3Cli%3E%0D%0A%09%09%09%3Cstrong%3EMinister%20moves%3C/strong%3E%0D%0A%09%09%3C/li%3E%0D%0A%09%3C/ul%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cp%3E%0D%0A%20%20Pedro%20Pablo%20Kuczynski%20has%20moved%20from%20Peru%27s%20economy%20ministry%20to%20become%20the%20country%27s%20new%20prime%20minister.%20His%20deputy%2C%20Fernando%20Zavala%2C%20replaces%20him.%20Zavala%20takes%20over%20at%20at%20a%20time%20when%20Peru%27s%20finances%20are%20on%20the%20up%20after%20Kuczynski%20helped%20transform%20the%20country%27s%20fortunes.%0D%0A%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%09%3Cp%3E%0D%0A%20%20In%20Ecuador%20finance%20minister%20Rafael%20Correa%20has%20resigned%20following%20a%20disagreement%20with%20president%20Alfredo%20Palacio%20over%20a%20potential%20loan%20from%20Venezuela.%20Correa%27s%20deputy%2C%20Magdalena%20Barreiro%2C%20is%20the%20new%20person%20in%20charge%20of%20the%20economy.%0D%0A%3C/p%3E%0D%0A%3C/BODY%3E%0D%0A

Europe's leading companies are so threatened by competition from aggressive and multiplying private-equity firms that they need to mimic the firms' approach.

Slovakia plans to establish a primary dealership system for 2006, and expects to decide on which banks have made the grade by the end of this year. According to Daniel Bytcanek, director of Ardal, the Slovak debt management agency, between eight and 10 banks will be appointed as primary dealers, made up of a combination of international investment banks that are most active in Slovak debt, and three or four local banks.

Poised between stellar growth and a spectacular new collapse.

Further banking sector consolidation is on the cards in South Africa, analysts predict, as projected GDP growth of more than 4% for 2005 tempts foreign players in.

%3CP%3E%3CSTRONG%3EThe%20cost%20of%20things%3CBR%3E%3CEM%3ETurkey%3C/EM%3E%3C/STRONG%3E%20%3C/P%3E%0D%0A%3CP%3E%3CEM%3E%241.556%20billion%3C/EM%3E%20%26%23150%3B%20the%20amount%20GE%20Consumer%20Finance%20has%20agreed%20to%20pay%20for%20a%2025.5%25%20stake%20in%20Garanti%20Bank.%20It%20struck%20the%20agreement%20at%20the%20end%20of%20August%20with%20Dogus%20Holding%2C%20Garanti%27s%20parent%20holding%20company.%20The%20deal%2C%20which%20values%20Garanti%20at%20%246.1%20billion%2C%20is%20expected%20to%20close%20in%20the%20fourth%20quarter.%20%3C/P%3E%0D%0A%3CP%3EUnder%20the%20agreement%2C%20GECF%20will%20also%20pay%20%24250%20million%20in%20cash%20for%2049.2%25%20of%20Garanti%20Bank%27s%20founders%27%20shares.%20The%20agreement%20stipulates%20that%20both%20parties%20have%20agreed%20to%20form%20an%20equal%20partnership.%20%3C/P%3E%0D%0A%3CP%3E%3CEM%3E%3CSTRONG%3EUkraine%3C/STRONG%3E%3C/EM%3E%20%3C/P%3E%0D%0A%3CP%3E%3CEM%3E%24600%20million%3C/EM%3E%20%26%23150%3B%20the%20estimated%20value%20of%20Aval%20Bank%2C%20Ukraine%27s%20second-largest%20financial%20institution%2C%20which%20RZB%20International%20has%20agreed%20to%20buy.%20RZB%20concluded%20negotiations%20last%20month%20to%20buy%20a%2093.5%25%20stake%20in%20Aval.%20Neither%20party%20has%20disclosed%20the%20price%20paid.%20The%20deal%20makes%20RZB%20the%20largest%20player%20in%20Ukraine%2C%20with%20a%20market%20share%20of%2011.5%25%20including%20its%20own%20and%20Aval%27s%20operations.%20%3C/P%3E%0D%0A%3CP%3ERZB%20International%2C%20the%20eastern%20European%20subsidiary%20of%20Austria%27s%20Raiffeisen%20Zentralbank%20%26%23214%3Bsterreich%2C%20will%20pay%20for%20the%20bank%20using%20proceeds%20from%20its%20%3CFONT%20face%3DTahoma%20size%3D2%3E%26%23128%3B%3C/FONT%3E1%20billion%20IPO%20in%20April.%20%3C/P%3E%0D%0A%3CP%3E%3CSTRONG%3E%3CEM%3ERussia%3C/EM%3E%3C/STRONG%3E%20%3C/P%3E%0D%0A%3CP%3E%3CEM%3E%24100%20million%3C/EM%3E%20%26%23150%3B%20how%20much%20France%27s%20Soci%26%23233%3Bt%26%23233%3B%20G%26%23233%3Bn%26%23233%3Brale%20agreed%20to%20pay%20last%20month%20for%20Delta%20Credit%20Bank%2C%20Russia%27s%20leading%20mortgage%20provider.%20Delta%20Credit%20was%20founded%20in%202001%20by%20the%20US%20Russia%20Investment%20Fund%20and%20has%20been%20managed%20by%20Delta%20Private%20Equity%20Partners.%20%3C/P%3E%0D%0A%3CP%3EMortgage%20lending%20is%20a%20fledgling%20business%20in%20Russia.%20Moscow%20has%20a%20population%20of%20about%2010.5%20million%2C%20but%20only%20just%20over%2010%2C000%20mortgages%20have%20so%20far%20been%20arranged.%20Delta%20Credit%20has%20originated%20more%20than%20%24200%20million%20of%20mortgages%20since%20its%20creation.%20%3C/P%3E%0D%0A%3CP%3EThe%20deal%20should%20close%20later%20this%20year%2C%20subject%20to%20the%20approval%20of%20the%20Russian%20banking%20and%20competition%20authorities.%20%3C/P%3E

After months of debate about the number of companies to be reprivatized, progress is made

Mexico has long been known for its big public companies: Televisa is the world's biggest broadcaster of Spanish-language programming, and wireless telephone group America Móvil has a reach that criss-crosses Latin America. But, with an illiquid stock market, Mexico falls short in providing financing for start-up firms that could be the region's Amazon.com or Apple, undermining the country's economic potential and shunning venture capitalists that are some of the most important providers of funding for small companies. "Mexico's problem is not a lack of capital or a lack of ideas, but a lack of local investors willing to take the necessary risks," says Howard Wallack, the recently appointed director of the Latin American Venture Capital Association (Lavca). "Mexico needs good business plans with the right people to execute them."

Latin nations' equity and debt markets are seeing greater issuance activity

Public-sector banks in Europe have hit on a new and potentially profitable idea. They're trying to turn themselves into localised versions of the universal banking model. Who are some of the successful early movers? And we look at how Europe's cooperative banks are teaming up in debt capital markets.

From electronic trading platforms to credit event fixings, inter-dealer broker Creditex regularly sets the pace in the electronic credit derivatives trading. But the market didn't know quite how to take spin-off of its post-trade processing platform T-Zero.

Iraq's finance minister, Ali Allawi, argues that debt relief with its official and commercial creditors is crucial to restoring stability to the country

Jihad Azour, Lebanon's finance minister, was director of UN Development Programme and World Bank projects at the ministry before his cabinet appointment in July 2005. He talks to Kate Luxford about Lebanon's economic priorities

High oil prices threaten Kazakhstan's economy with inflationary pressures.

The imminent liberalization of Gazprom share ownership rules will introduce the world's biggest energy company to the world's biggest investors. But is Gazprom ready for the world, or the world for Gazprom?

"I'm not interested in being prime minister. That'd be a demotion. I'm Tony Blair and the Queen in one!"

Recent Real estate industry award results

The growth of Iceland's banks – now centred on three main groups, profiled on the following pages – is one of the success stories of the past decade. The pace of development has led to concerns that such growth might be problematic and unsustainable. But the banks themselves are confident they are well placed for the future.

Dragos Neacsu, a former civil engineer and latterly investment banker, has taken on the challenge of overcoming the many shortcomings of Romania's debt strategy from the foundations up.

Grigorii Marchenko, chief executive of Halyk Bank and former governor of Kazakhstan's central bank, talks to Euromoney about bank capitalization, the development of consumer banking products, Kazakhstan's economic policy and the country's regional role.

Eastern European equity had a summer of love, as stockmarkets from Budapest to Istanbul hit all-time highs. Russia, last year's chronic underachiever, has been the best performer of all.

International markets reacted to the death of Saudi Arabia's monarch King Fahd by raising oil prices sharply to more than $61 a barrel.

Companies from Egypt to India and from Turkey to South Africa are hoping that the opening of the Dubai International Financial Exchange, set for the end of September, will open the doors to a vast well of unemployed petrodollars.

Legislation to guarantee the position of foreign investors is being followed up with a proposed comprehensive capital markets law.

Several leading private Saudi companies are preparing to go public by launching IPOs following the successful flotation of dairy company Al Marai in July.

The Qatar Financial Centre opened for business on May 1 2005, and is now accepting licence applications from institutions. Its first resident – private bank Ansbacher – is set to open in early September 2005. Stuart Pearce, QFC's chief executive, says that an asset-management company and two banks are in the final stages of applying for licences. Dismissing concerns that the creation of yet another regional financial hub might be seen as overkill, the QFC says it is not seeking to compete directly with Bahrain and Dubai. "There is no reason why all three centres can't operate together," says Pearce. "They are different, complementary markets." The QFC has its sights set on banks involved in project financing and private banking, as well as commercial banking, private equity and investment banking, IPOs, and structured finance. "The feeling is that more wealth is staying in the Middle East, and that wealth needs a home, so there are all kinds of opportunities for regional and international banks to participate in the development of that wealth," says Pearce.

It's difficult to make money in Russian private equity. Consequently, many of the world's biggest funds have steered clear. For those that have taken the plunge, the results are mixed. Some report returns far higher than those on equities. Others have had no luck and have packed up and left.

As restructuring rather than default becomes the norm for credit events in the emerging markets, it is time for those involved in the market to reappraise the effects of distressed situations on credit default swap prices, argue Manmohan Singh and Jochen Andritzky

Riad Salameh has been governor of Lebanon's central bank, Banque du Liban, since 1993. He talks to Kate Luxford about bank consolidation and the need for capital market growth

As Lebanese banks flush with liquidity devise regional expansion strategies, four of them have won licences to open affiliates in Syria's nascent privately owned banking sector.

News of an election is already perking up the Germany economy. If a centre-right coalition wins, as seems likely, expect yet more improvement

Iraq's Paris Club deal was exceptional on many levels – not least that it was mainly worked out in capitals far away from Paris. The deal arrived in November 2004 – more than a month ahead of schedule – thanks to some fortuitous timing. Iraq's Paris Club meeting happened to coincide with both a G20 meeting in Berlin and an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meeting in Santiago, which gave the mid-level finance ministry functionaries in Paris the ability to easily escalate negotiations to the finance-minister or even head-of-state level.

Country risk index: Most countries have better access to capital than ever before and sovereign credit ratings have been on the rise for the past three years. But an increasingly tense geopolitical environment has led to marked decline in this year's country risk ratings. Research and analysis by Paul Pedzinski.

Peru's former finance minister has helped to turn his country's fortunes around.

Asia's banks have reinforced their position as the largest emerging-market financial institutions thanks to the region's economic growth. Meanwhile Brazilian banks are at a head of a dynamic period in Latin America. Analysts at Moody's Investors Service discuss the trends.

Real estate has traditionally been a localized business. Now developers are considering the costs and benefits of moving out of the comfort zone and going international, as Helena Keers reports.

Exactly four years on from the September 11 attacks, there's been little construction activity to encourage banks to move back into Lower Manhattan. Goldman Sachs's decision to build a new headquarters on the site might be crucial