Investing in emerging markets has always been a pursuit best avoided by the faint-hearted. Typically boasting less liquidity than developed markets, and usually backed by less robust and diversified economies, they are renowned for their volatility. As a place to invest or set up a business, many have excessively complex legal and regulatory systems, among other assorted hurdles to doing business, that dissuade any but the specialist from participating. The performance of emerging markets as an

In 2010 Latin America took center stage as a global growth driver. You could even argue that, amid doubts about the stability of the euro, it took on the status of safe haven. It is no wonder that investors have been piling into the region and looking to acquire increasing quantities of local currency debt. Sovereigns and corporates took notice, and the local currency global bond market revived in 2010. The rise in issuance also revived the old debate about the merits of making local markets Eur

Argentina has become the new darling of Latin America’s high-beta universe. As investors grow increasingly wary of Venezuela they are instead focusing their attention on the Southern Cone country’s improving story. “Argentina has shown a willingness to pay its debt, amortisations are lower and in the near term we are not looking at a default… as opposed to Venezuela which is falling off a cliff,” said one strategist. Like Argentina a few years ago, worries about a Venezuelan default are on the r

Qatar emerged as the darling of the Middle Eastern sovereign debt markets last year. The deals from a small nation of less than two million people broke records, notched a few firsts and re-priced the whole existing credit curve for its credits. The sovereign alone sold US$10bn of Eurobonds. Meanwhile, US$5.3bn was issued by Qatari entities. Among these was Ras Laffan’s 30-year deal, the largest emerging markets FIG offering from the Commercial Bank of Qatar and the Middle East’s first ever tele

The sound of vuvuzelas has passed in South Africa following the world cup, but the country is now buzzing to a different sound: visiting equity capital market bankers rushing around to pitch to potential issuers. Bankers are keen to ensure they are involved in the resurgence in emerging market activity. For years South Africa has been viewed as a market that under delivers, with a flow of issuance well below its potential. The focus has been on emerging Europe, Russia and the Middle East for eme

In 2009 senior officials at International Finance Corporation in Washington DC decided that the organisation had to be more local. More people needed to be on the ground in the countries IFC works in, rather than trying to solve the world’s problems by sitting in long meetings in the US capital. It was decided that a second headquarters was needed and Istanbul was the chosen city. Centrally positioned, in a country where IFC is actually allowed to work (its mandate prevents it from doing deals i

The US$358m IPO issued in August by India’s SKS Corp attracted the biggest hitters in the financial world. Firms like Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, as well as billionaires including George Soros and N.R. Narayanmurthy, founder of Indian IT giant Infosys, participated. It was one of the few microfinance-related  IPOs to date, the last one being a US$400m deal issued four years ago by Mexico’s Banco Compartamos. Priced at the top end of its range and 13 times oversubscribed, it illustrates how eage

Turkey’s banks have been on a funding spree in recent months. Most of the major banks have been active in the syndicated loan arena, where they have traditionally sought most of their foreign funding. Now they are increasingly looking at new markets, with Akbank’s Eurobond and Kuveyt Turk’s sukuk providing evidence that the demand for Turkish paper can be found away from the loan market. Akbank has been the most active Turkish bank in the market, undertaking three international deals each over U

In the aftermath of the Greek/EU debt crisis explosion, US pension funds have recoiled from peripheral eurozone countries. Most stigmatised have been Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain – known as the PIGS. In stark contrast, a deepening American bid for non-eurozone EU nations has continued to develop. Cash rich US funds are anxious to increase their exposure to this space which benefits from favourable fundamentals and relative value versus LatAm sovereigns, as well as US high yield and high g

Citigroup, Credit Suisse, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, RBC and UBS are among the banks to have launched or built on banking operations in Poland in recent months. This represents a reversal of the withdrawal of many global banks from Poland – and other markets except their home jurisdictions – during the height of the financial crisis. Although it is theoretically relatively simple to set up shop—EU-licensed banks do not need a separate banking license for Poland, as they can set up a Polish subsi

Violence erupted in the land of the bloodless coup in May this year. “Red shirt” protestors, supporting deposed ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, took to the streets for over a month and clashes with police led to at least 90 deaths in Bangkok. Months later, the political standoff remains in place, but financial markets are thriving. The benchmark stock exchange of Thailand has risen 23.2% from the end of May to September 10. More tellingly, foreign investors, who were net sellers of Bt59.8b