Central & Eastern Europe Archives

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Economics, Policy & Regulation

Newsmaker: Belka Navigates Choppy Economic Waters in Poland

NEWSMAKERS: POLAND By Justin Keay Poland’s central bank governor, Marek Belka, marked the start of the New Year with an interview to a leading business newspaper in which he claimed Poland had experienced “the perfect slowdown” rather than the slump ...

Emerging & Frontier Markets

Regional Focus Caucasus

BEYOND OLD BOUNDARIES By Justin Keay Oil wealth, a favorable location and buoyant economic growth have thrust Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia onto the international stage. However, regional conflicts, political tensions and corruption are never far away. “The ...

Emerging & Frontier Markets

Emerging Markets Roundup: Russia

BATTLE RAGES ON FOR NORILSK NICKEL By Kim Iskyan Russia’s economy continued to show signs of slowing, as preliminary GDP for October 2012 clocked in at a very weak 2.3%, marking the fifth consecutive month of deceleration. ...

Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

Equity: China, LatAm Could Boost IPOs

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS: GLOBAL EQUITY / DRS By Gordon Platt After declining sharply in 2012, initial public offerings could stage a turnround in the new year, say analysts, with China and Latin America leading the issuance. The ...

Emerging & Frontier Markets

Fico Allays Critics’ Concerns As Economy Outperforms

NEWSMAKERS: SLOVAKIA By Justin Keay Emerging Europe doesn’t generate much in the way of good news these days, owing to the region’s proximity to and dependence on the eurozone. Fico has learned from past mistakes Photo Credits: ...

Emerging & Frontier Markets

Emerging Markets Review: Policy Change Needed In Central & Eastern Europe

SEEKING THE BRIGHT SIDE By Justin Keay Little of the news coming out of Central and Eastern Europe right now is upbeat, but concerted policy efforts by regional governments could garner some economic reward in 2013. These ...

Banking

Hungarian Banks’ Lending Capacity Reduced By Backtrack

MILESTONES: HUNGARY By Paul Mackintosh The Hungarian government threw the country’s banking sector into disarray in mid-October by reneging on an agreement with local banks to halve from 2013 the crisis levy imposed on them. Matolcsy blames EU ...

Emerging & Frontier Markets

Roundtable: Turkey Banking And Finance

AN INVESTMENT-GRADE STORY Moderated by Dan Keeler Global Finance hosted Turkey’s central bank governor and Turkish financial executives at a roundtable in Istanbul in September to discuss economic development, the importance of Turkey’s upgrade to investment grade and ...

Banking

Milestone: Bulgaria Puts Bid To Join Eurozone On Hold

MILESTONES: BULGARIA By Valentina Pasquali With the eurozone debt crisis dragging on and membership in the currency union becoming increasingly less appealing, the Bulgarian government recently froze its bid to join the eurozone. Bulgarian economy is outperforming its ...

Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

Milestone: Slovenia: Next In Line For A Bailout?

MILESTONES: SLOVENIA By Valentina Pasquali With all eyes on the much larger Spain and Italy, Slovenia might actually turn out to be the next eurozone country in line for a bailout. Bets are on as to whether ...

Banking

Newsmaker: First Democratically Elected PM An Unknown Quantity

NEWSMAKERS: GEORGIA By Valentina Pasquali Over the past few years, investors’ love story with Georgia flourished under the presidency of Mikheil Saakashvili, who spearheaded a sweeping liberal economic agenda since coming to power a decade ago. Bidzina ...

Banking

Newsmaker: Turkey Transitions To Investment Grade

NEWSMAKERS: TURKEY By Dan Keeler Turkey’s authorities are concerned that the economic boost provided by an upgrade to investment grade by Fitch Ratings could trigger some unwelcome side effects. Erdem Baç says he can keep inflation in check ...