Azerbaijani chemical company Socar Polymer printed a market-record size dollar bond on the domestic market over the summer, with bankers on the ground in the country now looking to attract international money.

The seventy-one countries who hold shares in the development bank that promotes private enterprise first in Central and Eastern Europe, and now much further abroad will choose the new president at their delayed annual meeting in October.

Qatar Islamic Bank broke new ground in the Sharia-compliant market this year when it printed the first ever Sukuk in Taiwan’s Formosa market. The bank’s chief financial officer tells EMEA Finance that the deal is expected to open the way for more similar issuance.

15 years since the G8 leaders wrote off debt for the poorest countries in Africa, there is a need for new debt suspension measures. 

While sub-Saharan Africa has been devastated by the coronavirus, some countries have been hit harder than others and the prospects for recovery across the continent are mixed.

Etihad Airways has printed the first ever transition Sukuk, with the national airline of the United Arab Emirates raising US$600mn as more issuers are expected to print similar deals. 

Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has shored up its finances with a US$1.5bn debt package, but mass domestic protests and an oil price that is well below the country’s breakeven level mean that the country’s oil sector faces a difficult period ahead.

North of US$350mn, the insect farming startup is Europe’s largest ever agtech firm fund raising, as the firm looks to produce animal protein more sustainably and with uses across the food supply chain.

Following a landmark transaction from Viathan, backed by InfraCredit, local currency infrastructure bonds are becoming more attractive to long-term investors. 

The Middle East’s bond machine has started rolling this year with major issuance from fixed income darling Saudi Arabia, and analysts reckon the region is set for a decent year in the capital markets. 

In July, ASA International became the first microfinance institution to publicly list in Europe. We explore the Group’s story to date and explain why microlending is becoming so attractive to mainstream investors. 

Union Bancaire Privée (UBP) has hired Marc Basselier as head of convertible bonds, a product that looks to offer investors some diversification as the global credit cycle turns away from cheap money.