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Global Economic Projections: Most significant moves

September 01, 1997

Emerging Market Bank Ratings 1997: Rating good and bad banks

Taiwan's Shanghai Commercial & Savings Bank is an unknown name in global finance. But this private-sector bank is very special. It gets a top ααα in Euromoney's new emerging market bank (Emba) ratings, covering 450 lesser-known banks. Pakistan's state-owned United Bank came bottom. The ratings go where others have feared to tread. Brian Caplen explains their use as a vital tool for counterparty risk.

September 01, 1997

A question of balance

Currency crises in emerging markets are the result of too much foreign capital, not too little. An early warning barometer is a country's "fundamental balance" - current account plus foreign direct investment. But even then, if small economies can't absorb the inflow they should form regional currency blocs. Roll on the Singapore yen, the Polish euro and the Mexican dollar, writes Michael Howell.

September 01, 1997

The quest for a new El Dorado

Foreign banks looking to diversify in international markets have pinpointed Latin America as the new growth area. But whereas in the past they largely confined themselves to investment banking and elite customers they are now seeking to build broader retail operations, either through outright purchases of local banks or buying large stakes in them. Michelle Celarier reports on a race that has sent the prices of even the shakier institutions to surprising levels.

September 01, 1997

Brazil's companies reach out for funds

Much more private-sector activity from Brazil is expected on international capital markets as the privatization programme progresses. Unsecured bond issuance is only part of this expansion. And as hyperinflation becomes a distant memory, the domestic capital market is also growing rapidly. Michael Marray reports.

September 01, 1997

Belarus: One way forward

The economic statistics may look promising and the industrial potential attractive, but foreign investors will steer clear of Belarus until the government starts keeping its promises on market reform and adopts a less authoritarian style. Philip Eade reports.

September 01, 1997

Japanese in Asia: Looking beyond the markets

Japan has shown a new willingness to intervene in troubled Asian economies, and currency problems are not deterring the banks from pursuing business all over the region. By Jack Lowenstein.

September 01, 1997

Waiting for banks to bite the bullet

series of bankruptcies is battering corporate Korea and putting serious strain on the country's banking sector. But companies and lenders alike are reluctant to embrace radical strategies. The result is a lot of posturing but little in the way of structural solutions. The worst may be yet to come, reports Jack Lowenstein.

September 01, 1997

Deals break new ground

Australia's financial markets have hit the headlines this year. While Australian dollar-denominated Eurobonds have been in vogue with European investors, privatization and a changing mortgage market have spurred a wave of issuance by Australian companies. Albert Smith looks at some of the landmark deals.

September 01, 1997

Bank reform goes only skin deep

France's banks are stifled by bureaucratic management, crippled by the over-expansion they undertook in the 1980s and hampered by regulatory obstacles to restructuring. What better time for an outsider with deep pockets to buy into one of the largest banking markets. By John McGrath.

September 01, 1997

Russia: The Next Chapter

RUSSIA: THE NEXT CHAPTER

September 01, 1997

Georgia: The way to prosperity

A determined reformist government has put Georgia on the road to recovery. Now foreign investors are starting to take an interest, attracted by the country's strategic position on the oil route to the Caspian Sea. But the recovery remains fragile, as Suzanne Miller found.

September 01, 1997

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