When one learns about monetary policy, the hyperinflation of Germany in the 1920s is always used as a standard case study for all students to understand the importance of controlling money growth, and what happens when inflation is let loose in an economy. Due to caution events, such as this, policymakers are taught, especially in…
Last year the crown prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad Bin Salman, announced that Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company would launch an Initial Public Offering (IPO) as part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 plan. The Vision 2030 aims to reduce the Kingdom’s dependence on oil by investing in businesses in the non-oil…
Venezuelan bonds are riding a high as the PDVSA skirted default in late October. The state-owned oil company’s $3bn bond maturing in April 2017 is trading at a two-year high of 87 cents on the dollar, up from a record low of 36 cents in February. Many bondholders believe that Venezuela is a good short-term…
The emergence of the revolutionary cloud ICT services in mature markets has transformed the operations of technology providers as well as enterprises. Cloud services that originated in MEDCs – which combine novel content with innovative software and, subsequently, efficient services – are now set to do the same for emerging markets. This transition implies that…
Credit constraints for SMEs particularly in the emerging markets is fast becoming a new norm. SMEs from Poland to Zimbabwe are facing liquidity gaps and remain mostly reliant on bank debt to run their business, ensure cashflow and fund investments. Yet, due to the inherently high risk involved for banks to lend money to SMEs,…