Emerging Europe

Euromoney’s ground-breaking poll of large corporate users of insurance reveals the best insurance companies and brokers globally and by region. The chief executives of the industry leaders tell Peter Lee how these customers’ increasing sensitivity to, and sophisticated appreciation of, all manner of risks is fundamentally changing the insurance business. Modelling themselves on the pre-eminent Goldman Sachs investment banker whispering strategic advice into the CEO’s ear, insurers and brokers now want to be your risk management consultant.

The Greek property sector is growing thanks to a surge in retail development. Concurrent capital markets’ liberalisation has allowed investors and developers greater access to the equity and debt markets. Phil Moore reports.

Private placements are becoming an increasingly common route for emerging market companies seeking to tap global debt markets.

Six months into a credit crunch there are few signs of an improving outlook for non-government bond markets. It is a signal equity investors would do well to heed.

The financial services sector in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia looks set to remain a magnet for foreign direct investment thanks to growing economic and political stability.

Central and eastern Europe is by no means immune to financial woes, strong economic growth levels notwithstanding.

Foreign banks continue to eye expansion opportunities in Kazakhstan, despite the cloudier outlook for the central Asian republic’s financial sector. South Korea’s Kookmin Bank is in talks with Bank CenterCredit, the sixth-largest Kazakh bank, with a view to taking at least a 30% stake. UniCredit is looking to finalize its $2.2 billion purchase of ATF Bank, Kazakhstan’s number four player. But the Italian bank has become embroiled in a legal dispute with US hedge fund QVT Financial, which has accused it of abusing minority investors’ rights. Finally, a Russian investment bank is reported to have built a 10% to 15% stake in the country’s largest bank, Kazkommertsbank, on behalf of an unknown party, prompting further takeover speculation.

Julius Baer plans to undertake an IPO of its US asset management business later this year, aiming to raise $1 billion. According to filings with the SEC, the US arm also intends to launch hedge fund and private equity vehicles. Its private equity funds will focus on central and eastern Europe.

A report by EDHEC says funds of hedge funds returned more than 10% in 2007 on average, compared with just 3.53% for the S&P 500 and 4.14% for the Lehman Global US Treasury Bond index. The best-performing strategy last year in single managers was emerging markets. All strategies produced positive returns, although a majority suffered a slight fall-off in performance on 2006.

Country Risk: Overall results

The effects of the sub-prime crisis are spreading and could cost 2.5% of world GDP. Emerging market economies will not be immune.

Two of the leading banking groups in central and eastern Europe, Austria’s Raiffeisen International and Italy’s UniCredit, have demonstrated that there is continued investor appetite for structured finance assets from the region with the launch of pioneering transactions.