Compilation of Frontier Market related articles across the web from 2nd September 2019 to 7th September 2019.

 

August 2019’s Best & Worst Performing Frontier Markets

Despite the MSCI Frontier Markets Index declining by -1.71% over the course of the month, GCC member Oman was the Best Performing Frontier Market after the MSM30 Index increased by 6.77%. No good news for Namibia’s stock market however, as it fell by just shy of 10%, ranking it as the Work Performing Frontier Market for the second month in a row.

 

Why Frontier Market Assets Are “Undercapitalised And Under-Owned”

T. Rowe Price’s Oliver Bell looks at the last five years in Frontier Markets (including Vietnam, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Kuwait) and discusses how they share many characteristics Emerging Markets had back in the late 1990s.

 

Trade War Has Vietnamese Companies Raising Capital With Bonds Over Stocks

Local companies raised almost $5 billion from bond sales in the first eight months of 2019 after stock market volatility, triggered by increasing trade tensions between the US and China, caused Vietnamese firms to shift from equity sales to bond sales in order to raise capital.

 

Kuwait’s Capital Markets Authority To Sell 50% Share In The Bourse To Citizens

Bourse Kuwait will proceed with plans for an initial public offering (IPO) on October 1st 2019 when it’s stock market regulator, the Capital Markets Authority, sell its 50% share in the bourse to Kuwaiti citizens. Only Kuwaiti citizens will be able to purchase the shares, with the subscription period running from October 1st to December 1st with an offering price of 100 fils per share (one-tenth of a dinar).

 

Nigeria: Central Bank Injects Over $321.112m Into Foreign Exchange Market

The Central Bank of Nigeria made an intervention of $321.112m into the Retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales after requests from participants in the agricultural and raw materials sectors.

 

Latest Funds To Watch – RWC Next Generation Emerging Markets Fund

The RWC Next Generation Emerging Markets fund has been earmarked as a “fund to watch” by Darius McDermott (managing director at Chelsea Financial Services), based on cost, investment potential and terms and conditions. The fund received a rating of 3.5 out of 5. More information on the fund can be found in our article.

 

Vietnam & Russia Seek To Boost Annual Bilateral Trade Turnover To $10 Billion By 2020

Anh Dung, Vietnamese Foreign Minister, has stated that he wishes to see trade between Vietnam and Russia hit $10 billion by 2020. Russian investors have been cautious about investing in Asia, but Vietnam is proving to be a model testing ground for Russian investors into the country where there is plenty room for growth.

 

Tunisian Stock Market Exposed By Pre-Election Political Fragmentation

In the run-up to the presidential and parliamentary election on 15th September an 6th October, the risks facing Tunisia are currently are currently causing mispricing securities in the equity and credit markets.

 

Former Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe Dies, Aged 95

Robert Gabriel Mugabe, former President of Zimbabwe, died aged 95 on Friday 6th September 2019.

 

Trade Bank of Iraq To Launch Investment Fund

Dubai-based Alpen Asset Advisers has teamed up with The Trade Bank of Iraq to launch the Dananeer Fund, a $100 million investment portfolio with an investment objective to generate returns via underlying investments in the US dollar-denominated Government of Iraq bond.