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Move helps normalize relations with international financial community.

Ask any foreign partner involved in a Sino-foreign public-private partnership (PPP) deal and they will tell you that they are far from straightforward to complete. So plans to establish, fund and build China’s first fully digital world-class hospital are not going to be easy.

Brazil’s Bradesco has raised $500 million in a securitization structured by ABN Amro. The notes were issued in two tranches of $250 million, with the 2007-1 series receiving triple-A ratings and the 2007-2 series rated at A– and Baa1 by S&P and Moody’s respectively. The notes are due in May 2014.

As the managers of the two Bear Stearns high-grade hedge funds that have attracted such unwelcome publicity over the past month squirm in the spotlight, they must be wondering where they went wrong.

State Street Global Advisors, the investment management arm of State Street Corporation, has announced it now has $100 billion in assets under management for its currency strategies. The company says its currency AUM have more than doubled over the last three years, which it says reflects the increasing importance of FX strategies to pension fund managers.

Although most analysts failed to predict it, the decision by the National Bank of Poland’s monetary policy committee to increase its benchmark seven-day intervention rate on June 27 by a quarter point to 4.50% had only a marginal impact in the market. The zloty strengthened, as might have been expected, but there was only an extremely modest sell-off in the bond markets, particularly at the long end. Most activity took place at the short end of the yield curve.

Proxy season in Japan is in full swing, with hundreds of companies holding annual general meetings at the end of June, often on the same date. There is nothing new in that: Japanese companies began clustering shareholder meetings in this way years ago to avoid extortion by yakuza (Japan’s criminal gangs), who would threaten disruptive action unless they were paid off.

WHAT’S WANTED is quality of products and services, competitive prices, social responsibility and a deep commitment to the environment and ethics – Brazil’s high flyers are a picky lot when they opt for a bank, surveys find. One bank, though, fits the bill better than any other: Banco Itaú. Brazil’s biggest private sector bank delivers not just on these eclectic areas but also in income growth, strong profits and shareholder value for investors. It is the leader in its class not just in Brazil, but a benchmark for all banks in Latin America. Its achievements are recognised by Euromoney’s award for best bank in Latin America. Itaú’s philosophy of listening to the market and giving it the products and services it wants, together with keeping a tight lid on costs, is behind the bank’s ability to produce this balance. Its core philosophy is market-led expansion strategies, not grandiose, management-driven plans. Adaptability, an ability to spot good, organic commercial opportunities, together with a knack for buying and integrating companies flows from that market-driven mind-set. Speed helps, particularly in a market where lumbering government-owned banks are still leading players.

Big potential seen in mobile communications and financial services.

As covered bond markets continue to thrive worldwide, it appears that the demands of ratings agencies might be becoming a stumbling block.

Decisions by two leading banks to allow clients to post bids and offers on their platforms call into question the need for multi-bank portals.

Head appointed of a new strategic solutions group.