On top of the Aldar-Sorouh merger, the financing of the second phase of Emirates Aluminium (Emal) added to Abu Dhabi and the UAE’s resurgent confidence in 2013.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy is never a cheering experience, but in Arcapita’s case it has created an important precedent for the Middle East, where – even after the crises of 2008 and 2009 – restructurings have been extensions of loans, largely because of undeveloped local bankruptcy laws.

Frontier markets are in vogue and there are few markets less tapped than Iraq. It is perhaps fitting, then, that in February 2013 Iraq produced the biggest IPO in the Gulf region since the 2008 global financial crisis: the $1.2 billion listing of mobile phone firm Asiacell.

Euromoney seeks nominations for rising stars in sub-Saharan Africa, across the corporate, financial and policymaking world.

The west African republic’s recent interest-rate hikes and foreign-exchange regulation changes are only short-term measures to halt the free-falling cedi. Structural changes will be needed for meaningful change.

While China’s economic slowdown has had repercussions on global emerging markets, frontier markets – specifically China’s trade partners in Africa – have been relatively insulated from the storm, sheltered in part by their limited financial systems. And, perhaps surprisingly, analysts are sanguine about the outlook for commodity-intensive trade.

South Africa’s finance minister Pravin Gordhan added his voice to the growing chorus of Bric policymakers sounding the alarm over the negative spillover effects of US monetary policy.

Lenders struggle with bad debts; Private banks form a niche

Sovereign slips six places in ECR rankings before rand sell-off.

New borrowing for festival costs; $22 billion due 2014, says IMF

As Fed tapering gathers momentum, frontier markets in Africa are not as vulnerable as their emerging market heavyweights, but those with higher current-account deficits will feel the pressure.

Bob Diamond heads new buyout team; Partners with Ugandan IT entrepreneur

First global bank with onshore presence; Follows new oil payments legislation

Surveys suggest that virtual currencies look a safer bet than local stocks and property.

The Fed added insult to emerging-market injury when it failed to acknowledge the EM rout this week, confirming the resolutely domestic focus of its monetary stance despite the international spill-over effects. The move reignites the debate about global monetary co-ordination.

African countries’ ability to access diversified funding is becoming more important. Deepening the local-currency bond markets is essential, but is the price worth paying? And are development organizations doing enough?

2014 Results will be published 3 February.

Rwanda’s finance minister Claver Gatete waxes lyrical over the country’s bid to become an international-investment hub for the budding East African Community and defends the administration’s security policy.

Emerging-market assets have fallen thanks to domestic policy risks, rather than Fed-tapering fears, triggering market contagion, as Turkey and Argentina lurched into crisis mode. However, India’s economic rebalancing shows the way forward for EMs out-of-market favour.

A toxic combination of large external financing gaps and US liquidity withdrawal has increased the risks of investing in triple-B rated emerging market (EM) sovereigns. With many countries facing elections this year and stalling on structural reforms, economists taking part in Euromoney’s Country Risk Survey have placed five of the larger EMs under the microscope.

A flurry of Eurobond issuance out of Africa was characterized by cheap funding as portfolio funds flooded Africa looking for yields, but as Fed tapering comes to the fore, African sovereigns might tilt back towards local currency bond markets.

Zambian policymakers are poised to tap the international market for a second time, but they cannot expect similar terms set in the 2012 issue.

Africa’s growth is one tribute to the former president’s legacy.

Fed tapering will prompt rises in yields for African hard-currency debt, but this doesn’t mean that countries with strong economic fundamentals should hold off issuing.

Fiscal slippage, less FDI and lower export prices make Ghana among most vulnerable; Eurobond access still cheap

In 2008, Kuwait’s Gulf Bank was near death. Propped up by the state, it underwent repair and a refocus under a new CEO, Michel Accad. Job done, Accad is leaving. Analysts are on the alert for new strategies that undermine his good work.

Long-term foreign-direct investment into sub-Saharan Africa should remain buoyant despite the threat of Fed tapering, with commodity-rich countries outperforming, say analysts at Fitch, after 2013 saw weak portfolio flows and a boom in FDI.

RenCap says 2013 operational profit is ‘a major achievement’, with 50% of revenues from Africa, boosting the lender’s diversification strategy after a volatile restructuring.

Internet connectivity in Africa has the potential to transform the continent, contributing up to $300 billion to GDP by 2025, according to a McKinsey report. However, some of the country’s most advanced economies, such as South Africa and Nigeria, are lagging behind other innovative peers, says Paul Cook of Silvertree Capital.

Inaugural sukuk issued; key constituent quietly leaves.