The GlobalCapital View

• Zelensky must be seen to be on the straight and narrow

  Ukraine’s wildcard new president Volodymyr Zelensky has been making all the market-friendly noises investors could wish to hear, turning the country into a darling of emerging market portfolio managers. But there’s a wasp at the picnic: one oligarch's quest to regain his former bank is threatening the country’s economic future.

  • 17 Sep 2019

• Aramco: how do you discount for drones?

  It isn't often that equity investors are asked to buy assets subjected to physical attack. The drone strikes on Saudi Arabia’s Abqaiq and Khurais oil facilities on Saturday could lead to Aramco demanding a big discount on any upcoming listing. The IPO market has suffered its fair share of geopolitical tumult of late, but this long and keenly anticipated deal could wind up being the riskiest of them all.

  • 17 Sep 2019

• Are you Sirius? Protecting retail investors from themselves

  Sirius Minerals is in big trouble, and that means big losses ahead for the mainly retail investor base, who saw their shares dive 50% on Tuesday morning. Since the crisis, regulators have strained every nerve to keep complex, risky products out of retail hands — while retail investors have merrily piled into loss-making tech stocks and cryptocurrencies, and gambled on extractive industries. How much protection do they need?

  • 17 Sep 2019

• China reforms QFII, RQFII but leaves critical problems untouched

  China’s move to remove the quota limits on the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) and renminbi QFII (RQFII) schemes could help in the long-term development of the country’s financial market. But this is not nearly enough. If the regulators want to see some serious change, they need to tackle two key hurdles facing foreign investors.

  • 17 Sep 2019

• LSE bid shows HKEX’s limitations

  The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing’s (HKEX’s) proposition to acquire the London Stock Exchange Group last week was nothing short of bewildering. Instead of showcasing the HKEX’s ambition with such a bid, the move has only served as an embarrassing reminder of the bourse’s shortfalls.

  • 17 Sep 2019

• Green price ratchet bonds will soon be everywhere

  The sustainability-linked bond issued by Enel on Thursday opens a new chapter in the green finance market. Anyone tempted to think this will be a freak should think again. The idea is sure to catch on.

  • 10 Sep 2019

• The perils of investing in used cars

  Moody’s has downgraded Ford Motor Credit Company from investment grade to a junk rating. It is not the only auto manufacturer to run suffer a prang, however, and as more securitization issuers move into the autos sector, UK market participants need to be wary of history repeating.

  • 10 Sep 2019

• Bazooka or water pistol, Draghi is guaranteed to disappoint

  There is typically a degree of consensus among market participants as to what a central bank will say at its upcoming monetary policy meeting. But, days before the European Central Bank’s Governing Council gathering on Thursday — the most important of the year and perhaps ever — there are wide ranging views as to what its president Mario Draghi will announce at his swansong meeting. Someone will get burned.

  • 10 Sep 2019

• Are credit ratings relevant for Turkey's banks?

  Ratings, huh. What are they good for? Absolutely nothing — at least not when push comes to shove in the financing of Turkey's banks. Moody's downgrade to the Turkish sovereign and the country's banks in June sparked concern among syndicated lenders. But as another round of refinancings begins, pricing is tightening and banks are heaping praise upon their Turkish counterparts.

  • 10 Sep 2019

• Asia IPO rush is not a return to normal

  Asia’s IPO market burst into life this month, with issuers in Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and the Philippines testing investor appetite for their listings. While the resurgence is welcome after a bleak year for issuance so far, it is likely to be short lived, with a lot also resting on early movers’ performances.

  • 10 Sep 2019

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