Brazilian President Michel Temer could be investigated on corruption charges over pressuring former ministers to back an ally’s property investment, according to Reuters. The news came just hours after Geddel Vieira Lima, minister in charge of relations with Congress and one of Temer's closest aides, resigned his post.
The IFC has provided a US$55mn syndicated loan to design, build, operate and maintain seven small hydropower plants across Kenya. The plants will have a combined installed generating capacity of 16MW. The energy produced will go to Kenya Tea factories, with any excess being sold to state-owned Kenya Power and Lighting Company. KTDA Power Company Limited, a subsidiary of Kenya Tea Development Agency Holding Limited, is developing the project.
India's Central Bank will review its decision asking banks to deposit their extra cash with it after the government has issued market stabilization scheme bonds to soak up liquidity, RBI Governor Urjit Patel told local press this weekend. On Saturday, the RBI unexpectedly ordered banks to boost cash deposits with the RBI in a bid to absorb excess liquidity generated by the recent demonetization move, potentially draining up to INR3.24tn (US$47.2bn) from the country's banks.
Opposition candidates are estimated to have won around 20 seats out of 50 in Kuwaiti elections that saw most parliament members replaced. The turnout stood at around 65% in a vote that experts see as a reflection of popular anger at austerity measures introduced by the government, and will make it harder to pass further reforms.
Azerbaijan’s foreign debt to GDP increased to 20.1% of GDP in October, according to the country’s Finance Ministry. Foreign debt now amounts to US$7.65bn as opposed to US$6.89bn at the end of 2015.
Non-performing loans (NPLs) at Home Credit and Finance Bank have fallen to 7.7% of total loans from 9.4% in the first half of 2016. This was down from 13% in 2015.
The Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has noted that the country’s international reserves are sufficient to withstand external shocks. Despite this, Chinese reserves have declined by 22.5% since the beginning of 2016 to US$3.121tn in October according to figures from the Central Bank.
India's demonetization initiative coupled with heightened prospects of a rate cut in the country in December have prompted issuers to rush to the market. Indian Railways Finance Corporation, NTPC, Vedanta Resources, Exim India and Axis Bank have all moved to print fresh notes last week, according to data from Reuters and Bloomberg.
Mexico’s current account deficit narrowed from US$8.041bn in Q2 2016 to US$7.571bn in Q3 2016 according to Banco de Mexico. The accumulated current account deficit for this year amounts to 2.9% of GDP.
Brazil has become the first EM country in nearly two decades to join the Paris Club, a voluntary group of creditor nations that provide debt relief and restructuring to developing countries.
Embattled South African President Jacob Zuma reportedly faces a no confidence vote from the ANC's National Executive Committee (NEC), with several high ranking cabinet members reportedly favouring the measure.
Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait (ABK) has rebranded its subsidiary in Egypt, Piraeus Bank Egypt, to ABK Egypt.
Novatek’s Yamal LNG project is to attract EUR1.0bn in loan facilities from EU export agencies and Japan’s JBIC, Russian agency Interfax reported on Friday, quoting the company’s CEO Leonid Mikhelson.
South Africa is on a warning that Fitch may cut its debt rating after the agency revised its outlook on the country to negative from stable, based largely on political risks. The rating agency maintained its BBB- rating.
Zimbabwe’s Central Bank has started adding bond notes – printed by the government and backed by dollars – into the financial system, delivering the currency over the weekend to banks in the SSA country. The bond notes are intended to reduce a shortage of hard currency in Zimbabwe – a country that abandoned the Zimbabwe dollar in February 2009 and became the world’s first open multi-currency economy.
