Search results for

Lorenz Altenburg is head of syndicate for covered bonds and supranational and sovereign issuers at Société Générale Commercial and Investment Bank since 2000. He was previously head of covered bond trading for SG CIB and before that Lorenz worked for Banque Indosuez/ Credit Agricole Indosuez in Tokyo, New York and Paris as a fixed-income trader. Ziad Awad is co-head of European syndicate at Goldman Sachs. He has been with Goldman's syndicate for the last five years, focusing mostly on covered bonds, sovereign and agency issues. Previously he had been a government bond trader with Goldman Sachs since 1994.

As the states of the MENA region attempt to cut back their role in the economy, and the Gulf states in particular attempt to move away from their dependence on oil, private sector firms are emerging as the key to achieving sustainable economic growth. Although the region's economies remain dominated by the public sector, private firms have recorded impressive growth in recent years in much of the Middle East and north Africa.

It's a sure sign of a nervous credit market when even a monoline insurer's spreads can blow out by 30 basis points in a matter of days. MBIA says its triple-A rating is unimpeachable. Most people agree. But the worm of doubt has been released. Peter Lee reports.

Ms Ooi Lay Leng is a senior portfolio manager at the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), managing global fixed-income portfolios including global emerging market fixed-income and currency portfolios. She specializes in policy matters, participates in investment strategies and is responsible for fixed-income investment decisions pertaining to the Asean markets. Lay Leng has accumulated more than 10 years of experience in the fixed-income market. During her career with the fixed-income department, she had worked at GIC's London and New York offices, before returning to the GIC's head office in July 1998 Lim Heong Chye is managing director of DBS Asset Management (DBSAM). He joined DBS Asset Management in 2001 and since his joining, DBSAM's fixed-income funds have been ranked top quartile, and its flagship global fixed-income fund has received a five-star rating from Mercer Investment Consulting. He has been instrumental in enhancing DBSAM's fund management franchise and, in addition to his present responsibilities, is focused on building DBSAM's capabilities in Greater China. He also oversees the institutional marketing and client servicing functions at DBS Asset Management.

Parsian Bank

Attention now turns to more complex Al Marai transaction

China's domestic stock markets are a mess, riddled with inefficient companies, gerrymandered by a meddling government and hamstrung by a vast share overhang. Despite these challenges, Invesco Great Wall Fund Management Company has found a way to make money from stock picking. Much of its success rests on simply understanding the realities of its market. Chris Leahy reports.

Other banks are unlikely to follow the US firm's example of advising on both sides of a takeover

With banks more cautious about straight lending and bond spreads tight, real estate securitization through commercial mortgage backed securities is becoming increasingly popular, with conduit issuance taking a growing share of the market. Laurence Neville reports.

Government-guaranteed issuers have long been a mainstay of the Japanese bond markets. Now the zaito issuers are seen as a market in their own right. Chris Leahy and Andy Wright report.

The brand new city in the middle of Nigeria has grown faster than expected. Now it is time to return to the master plan

Includes correspondence from Larry Thompson, DTCC and Robert J Shapiro, Washington economist. Response to April 2005's Naked shorting: The curious incident of the shares that didn't exist.