19 May 2024
Since the conclusion of the political and economic crisis in 2010, Cote d’Ivoire has flourished in the debt market, more so even than other Sub-Saharan African countries that have benefitted from the hunt for yield. EMEA Finance examines the prospects for the country going forward.
In a market where space limits scale, local firms have needed to be ambitious and smart about how and where they work. Qatar is the smallest country in the Gulf Cooperation Council by area and population after Bahrain. Banks and companies alike have grown accustomed to looking beyond the borders and offshore for business. For newer banks like Barwa that’s meant pushing to win work on international deals such as the UK sukuk.
Arab heads of state signed the Damascus Declaration in 2007, a pledge “to take necessary measures and develop competent plans to enhance renewable energies in their countries’ energy portfolios.” Across the Middle East and North Africa today, it looks as if these promises are coming to fruition, with governments actively promoting the growth of the renewable energy sector.
Turkey has seen a re-balancing of its political landscape. The economic consequences are more difficult to ascertain. Analysts at BNP Paribas Investment Partners, the asset management arm of the French bank, believe there is likely to be short-term volatility but the long term implications of these results are quite positive.
Lebanon’s banking sector continues to be defined by strong capitalisation and ample liquidity. A loyal network of depositors and inflows of generous remittances from wealthy Lebanese residing abroad make a strong contribution to the sector’s resilience as well.
On June 5 Norway’s parliament approved a proposal that will see its gargantuan US$900bn Government Pension Fund Global divest stakes in mining companies that derive more than 30% of their revenues from coal and power companies that are more than 30% reliant on coal for generation.
Banks and asset managers are rushing-in to adopt environmental, social and governance (ESG) risk when making investment decisions. They are starting to provide their clients with direct assess to professional advisors who specialise in this area as well.
Being a signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) has become a badge of honour for many pension funds and asset managers.
In June, EMEA Finance held a roundtable on environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment. Topics under discussion included the growing threat of ESG-related risk, how to turn knowledge into an investment tool, and what banks can learn from corporates.
In 2008, Abu Dhabi embarked on ambitious plans to create a world-leading sustainable eco-city that would serve as a blueprint for how other cities can accommodate rapid urbanisation while reducing energy output, water and waste. This vision was realised in Masdar City – a city reliant on clean energy generated on-site from rooftop solar technology as well as one of the largest photovoltaic (PV) installations in the Middle East.
Renewable energy resources do not just have the potential to meet Jordan’s electricity needs but, by 2050, they could provide more than 60 times the country’s energy consumption.
