MBASA in the mood for change – new website, statutes…

MBASA is revamping itself and there is a lot of energy it seems. I like what I am seeing. The new team has taken the leads and is really pushing forward with change. I first noticed that the communication with the students has become more professional with a new newsletter format and frequent surveys and drop-in sessions.

Then I  noticed that there is an increased link between MBASA, the student body and the program mangement. MBASA is now entitled to join and participate in the monthly program management meetings and therefore is now able to contribute the student’s views and feedback and direct them directly to the program directors and the Dean. This is a great move forward from the past and it is good step forward for a closer collaboration.

Today I get an email from MBASA informing students that they would like to change the constitution with more modern and flexible statutes in order to allow for implementing changes more rapidly. This is very proactive and I am glad to see that the change process starts at the core. In addition they sent out a survey asking for the students’ opinion on the proposed changes and this leads me to my next point.

MBASA revamped its website. The survey was conducted on their website, which I didn’t know was relaunched recently. Great way of promoting the new website that hopefully will become the center of information. What I like is that there you can also find there the archived newsletters that I mentioned earlier. The clubs are also now being migrated to the same MBASA address so the online representation of the clubs becomes more uniform.

In addition on the right you will find a calendar for all the MBASA and student related events. This is a long awaited move and I am glad to see that it is finally online. Now we just need the calendar link so that we can import it into our calendars and that it becomes automatically updated on our computers as well.

The next thing that I suggest you start a little online shop for MBASA and ESADE merchandise so that we can buy the products all year around. I truly like the ESADE merchandise and I hope that we get to see more ESADE t-shirts, hoodies, caps, etc. on campus. You might want to use the Abacus technology of the current ESADE shop website.

Good job MBASA and keep it up. I like what I am seeing!!!!

Emerging Markets – Newsletter #6

Emerging Markets

Report sees emerging markets leading global growth – The world economy will start growing again in 2010 but emerging markets will accelerate at a much faster rate than the U.S and Europe, due in part to continued frugality among Western consumers, a new report says. AP

Latin America

Dubai Shouldn’t Hurt Latin America, World Bank Says –  Latin America is better positioned than other emerging markets to withstand fallout from a possible Dubai debt default because its economy is in better shape, said Pamela Cox, the World Bank’s vice president for Latin America. Bloomberg

Ex-guerrilla easily wins Uruguay presidency – President-elect Jose Mujica retreated to his flower farm and shunned the spotlight on Monday, saying that dumping more talk on Uruguayans after a speech-filled campaign “would be like raining on what is already wet.” AP

Exclusive: Banco do Brasil eyes U.S., Latin takeovers: CEO – Banco do Brasil (BBAS3.SA), Latin America’s largest bank by assets, may seek acquisitions in the United States, looking to benefit from “devalued” prices among regional lenders, Chief Executive Aldemir Bendine said in an interview. Reuters

Brazil Real ‘Most Overvalued’ Currency, Goldman Says – Brazil’s real is the “most overvalued” currency as a “wall of money” coming into Latin America’s biggest economy may overwhelm government efforts to curb its rally, said Goldman Sachs Group Inc. BloombergBrazil: Chinese Buy Stake in MMX Steel – The Wuhan Iron & Steel Group, a Chinese steelmaker, agreed to pay $400 million for a stake in Brazil’s MMX Mineracao e Metalicos to broaden its supply of iron ore. NYTimes

Asia Pacific/Pacific

Christmas in Asia – The Christmas celebrations are turning out to be an important revenue stream for the non-Christian economies in Asia. Christmas has become so popular in Asia that no retailer would want to miss this chance. American Daily

Obama & Asia – What is the feeling now that Obama has left and the dust has settled? ZanesVille

Japanese exports jump – The low value of the Japanese Yen against the Euro and USD has spurred a large demand in exports. Bloomberg

Asia seems to be future – The World Bank now bets on Asia as being the main driver for recovery of the world economies. Reuters, The Australian, AFP

South-Asia epicenter for Islamic fundamentalism – Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, announces South-Asia as being the hub for Islamic extremists. RTT

Asians invade US – Random Story: The Asian carp is causing hamock in the Great Lakes where the great Asian carp threatens the entire fishing industry. CBS

Africa

Eskom Seeks $5.4 Billion in Funding, Cuts Tariff Plan – Eskom Holdings Ltd., South Africa’s state utility, scaled back plans to increase tariffs 45 percent after hostility from companies and unions, saying it will delay projects and seek private investment to meet a cash shortfall. Bloomberg

Looted wealth fuels Congo’s conflict – President Paul Kagame of Rwanda is no neutral observer when it comes to the Democratic Republic of Congo. His attempts to mould events there have often exacerbated a conflict now in its 14th year. FT

Oil majors invest $21 billion in deepwater operations – Oil majors operating in Nigeria have invested more than $21 billion (about N2.9 trillion) in the deepwater developments under the Producing Sharing Contract (PSC), a senior official of Chevron Nigeria Limited revealed on Monday. 234Next

Builders turn to technology to cut cost of houses – The escalating cost of houses has locked out many people from having a decent shelter over their heads. But the use of new building materials such as Prefabricated Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) to put up houses may change this. Business Daily Africa

Where should Africa turn for funds? – Small report on a debate on investment prospects in Africa involving private sector panellists and representatives of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Reuters

Rwanda – first landmine-free country – Rwanda has been declared free of landmines – the first country to achieve this status. BBC

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Emerging Markets – Newsletter #5

Emerging Markets

UK Pension Funds and IMF disagree on EMs –  The UK pension funds invest again in emerging markets however IMF’s chief economist Olivier Blanchard warns of a bubble as does China. People, Reuters (pension fund), IMF (bubble)

Latin America

LatAm grows steadily – Reuters

Brazil keeps sending mixed feelings – The efts are growing strongly but the new taxes threaten to destroy the recent grains. Bloomberg Seeking Alpha

The Economist Special Report: business and finance in Brazil. Attachment

Latin America Stocks to Near Records by End 2010, JPMorgan Says – Latin America’s stock markets will rebound to almost record highs by the end of next year. Bloomberg

El Nino intensifies Latin America drought – From a devastating food crisis in Guatemala to water cuts in Venezuela, El Nino has compounded drought damage across Latin America this year. AFP

Gerdau Sells $1.25 Billion of 10-Year Bonds in Overseas Markets – Gerdau SA, Latin America’s largest steelmaker, sold $1.25 billion of 10-year bonds in overseas markets as the company prepares to boost investment in its iron- ore business, said a person familiar with the transaction. Bloomberg

Argentina’s Debt Swap May Be Delayed Until January – Argentina’s planned offer to swap as much as $20 billion of defaulted debt to help it re-enter international credit markets for the first time since 2001 may be delayed until January, Economy Minister Amado Boudou said. Bloomberg

Asia Pacific/Pacific

China –  Chinese stocks surged last week Cabot

Sharia-compliant investments – An investment fund that is sharia-compliant looks at investing in clean-tech and gains in popularity. Reuters

JP Morgan hires Shao as CEO – JP Morgan appointed the Linklaters LLP’s Asia managing partner Zili Shao. He is due to start in February 2010. WSJ

Asia farewells Obama unimpressed – The Asian countries are looking at the bottomline of Obama’s visit to Asia and are not impressed. WSJ

Air Asia to expand to India – AirAsia is looking at expanding its activities into India after having overcome large amount of documentations. Now the structure seems to stand and the potential that India can bring to AirAsia can be tremendous. The Star

Africa

European Union gives Nigeria $1bn ‘for peace’ – The European Commission has signed a $1bn (£602m) development pact with Nigeria, aimed at tackling corruption and promoting peace. BBC

Ghana pledges tough curbs on spending – The government of Ghana, an evolving democracy beloved of western donors, has pledged tough new checks on spending as it wrestles with a record budget deficit inherited from the former administration. FT

Out of Africa, into Euronext for PPR’s CFAO – French retail and luxury group PPR is set to raise up to $1.5 billion by listing its Africa-focused distribution unit CFAO in Paris next week, raising the profile of a company little known by international investors. Reuters

KENYA: Nakumatt Sets Sh1.8 Billion Price for Sale of 30 Per Cent Stake – Retail chain Nakumatt Supermarket is shoring up its financial position with the sale of a third of its shares to international private equity investors for Sh1.8 billion. AllAfrica

Eskom May Secure a $3.75 Billion World Bank Loan by Early 2010 – The World Bank may agree to lend Eskom Holdings Ltd. as much as $3.75 billion by early next year to help reduce an 80 billion rand ($11 billion) funding shortfall, South Africa’s National Treasury said. Bloomberg

Most clicked articles last week:

IIM-A’s summer placements close in four days flat

Latin America will do well, but not great

Big Risks in China’s Yuan Policy

South Korea OK’s India free trade agreement

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Newsletter – Emerging Markets #4

Emerging Markets

Are ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) Causing an Emerging-Markets Bubble? – U.S. investors have pumped roughly $26 billion into emerging-markets funds so far this year. Of that, $15 billion came in through exchange-traded funds — portfolios that hold every stock in a market benchmark with utterly no regard to price. FT Advisor, WSJ

Latin America

Agriculture: Superpower is ready to feed the world – Malthusians worried about the world’s ability to feed itself might like to listen to Roberto Rodrigues, an agribusiness consultant and former Brazilian agriculture minister. FT

Lula sees Brazil economy growing 5 pct in 2010 – President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is confident Brazil’s economy will grow by 5 percent in 2010 and expects foreign reserves to reach $300 billion soon, he told the Financial Times in an interview published on Monday. Reuters

Meirelles Says Investors May Create Brazil Bubble – Brazilian central bank President Henrique Meirelles said “exuberant” investors might create an asset bubble in Latin America’s biggest economy. Bloomberg

Latin America will do well, but not great – The news that Brazil and Mexico have come out of the recession and are poised for solid growth should be celebrated, and both countries leaders should be given credit for their sound economic management. Miami Herald

Latin America low on Obama’s priority list – One year the election of President Obama, it’s time to ask whether his ambitious campaign promises for Latin America are being fullfiled. Miami Herald

Latin American Leaders Seek to Rein in Media, Press Group Says – Populist leaders in Latin America are increasingly making legal and political moves to silence their critics in the media, the president of the Inter American Press Association said Friday. NYTimes

Asia Pacific/Pacific

Indian IIM-A placement record – The famous business school IIM-A manages to place all 321 students within four days. India Times

Asian stocks falling third week in a row – The Asian stock markets have been experiencing the longest decline for the last 8 months. Bloomberg

Russia – German carmaker Audi is aiming at doubling its sales to 30,000 by 2015 in Russia while Gazprom is cutting its profits in half for first half of 2009. WSJ, The Associate Press

Is China unbalancing the world economies? – China is again growing at 8% and is bound to overtake Japan as the second largest economy in the world. Critics now say that this growth is at the expense of the rest of the world especially with regards to the Yuan policies. Economist economist Herbert Stein goes even further criticing that this growth is not sustainable: ” too much investment, too much saving, too little consumption”. NY Times

India – JPMorgan to Grow Indian Investment Banking Unit. Bloomberg

Indian-South Korean freetrade agreement – India and South Korea are moving closer by increasing economic ties and entering a free trade agreement. JoongAng Daily, Businessweek

Japan – Uncertainty about US Army Bases in Japan after new Japanese government has taken power and Obama heading to Japan. WSJ Reuters

Mekong Delta – The last frontier of the Asian Emerging Markets is gaining increasing attention especially now as Japan makes more economic ties. Channel News Asia, Reuters

Asia most affected by climate change – The APEC summit has concluded that it is most affected by the Economic Change and focuses more attention on environmental protection now. Xinhuanet

Obama in Asia – The US president is faced with tough situations when visiting Japan, China, Singapore and South Korea this week. Honolulu Advertiser LA Times

Africa

Angola Seeks $4 Billion in Bond Sale, JPMorgan Says Angola, which vies with Nigeria as Africa’s biggest oil producer, is seeking to raise $4 billion in the sub-Saharan African region’s largest sale of bonds. Bloomberg

China pledges $10bn in Africa loans The Chinese government has pledged to give African countries billions of dollars in cheap loans at a two-day Africa-China summit in Egypt. Aljazeera

Ghana to renegotiate $900m Vodafone deal The government of Ghana on Tuesday night said it would renegotiate Vodafone’s $900m (£550m) purchase of a leading local telecoms group after an official review into alleged “irregularities” in the deal. FT

Why deregulation is essential for Nigeria, by Yar’Adua PRESIDENT Umaru Musa Yar’Adua yesterday said that deregulation of the petroleum sector was inevitable to curb corruption and other abuses in the system. NGR Guardian News

SA terminate $5.4bn Airbus deal The South Africa government has terminated the US$5.4 billion Airbus A400M military aircraft deal, cabinet announced on Thursday. The decision which was taken two weeks ago but was only made public Thursday would have seen the southern African country acquire eight Airbus A400 military aircraft. Africa News

Why Ugandans want to work in Iraq At the Watertight security training ground in Uganda, a group of men and women are doing target practice with their AK47s. BBC

Most clicked articles last week:

HSBC On Lookout For Acquisitions In Emerging Markets –WSJ

Emerging Markets Offer Operators Best Opportunity to Gain Foothold in Growing Mobile Business Customer Market, Says ABI Research – Reuters

The Double-Edged Sword of Emerging Market Growth – Seeking Alpha

Forget China, Brazil’s a cheaper investment – CNN Money

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Newsletter – Emerging Markets #3

Emerging Markets

EM new opportunities for Mobile Phone Operator – Mobile Phone Operators see a great growth opportunities with the large amount of SME emerging and growing in the Emerging markets. Reuters

HSBC is looking at the EM – HSBC is on the look out for M&A’s in EM and is particularly interested in China – WSJ, Reuters

Pension Funds are heading to the EM – Fund managers are looking at increasing the amount of pensions funds investmented in EM. Pionline

Latin America

Banco do Brasil wants US$5.7bn US share sale – SAO PAULO, Oct 31 (Reuters) – Banco do Brasil (BBAS3.SA), Brazil’s biggest bank, wants to fetch up to 10 billion reais ($5.7 billion) in a share offering in the United States to replenish its capital base, newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo reported on Saturday, citing unnamed sources. Reuters

Honduran coup leaders agree to restore ousted president to power –  The de facto government announces that it will sign accord reinstating Manuel Zelaya. The Guardian

AEI Pulls Offering Amid Record Low Returns for IPOs – Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) — The market for initial public offerings, hurt by the worst returns in at least 14 years, suffered another setback after AEI pulled its sale. Bloomberg & Reuters

EMERGING MARKETS – LatAm stocks tumble, worst day in 8 months – NEW YORK, Oct 28 (Reuters) – Investors pulled back from riskier markets again on Wednesday after weak U.S. housing data upset economic recovery hopes and slammed Latin American stocks for their worst one-day fall in nearly 8 months. Reuters & Bloomberg

Forget China, Brazil’s a cheaper investment – The bustling economy survived the global slump in style, and many of its stocks are still reasonably valued. CNN Money

Asia Pacific/Pacific

Pakistan’s National Bank Net Declines on Provisions – National Bank of Pakistan, the nation’s biggest lender by assets, said third-quarter profit declined 18 percent after it set aside additional funds to cover bad debts and received lower dividend income. Bloomberg

China’s Sinopec posts 25% drop in 3Q net income – Sinopec Profit May Fall as Fuel Prices Lag Behind Oil. Bloomberg, China Economic Review

China sovereign fund buys 45% stake in Russian oil company – China Investment Corporation (CIC), the nation’s sovereign wealth fund, announced Friday that it had closed the first phase settlement for the purchase of a 45 percent stake in Nobel Oil Group. People.com.cn

China’s economic policies, RMB exchange rate to remain stable – China is to maintain basic stability and continuity in the economic policies and RMB exchange rate to ensure a foreseeable prospect for its businesses. Xinhuanet

India is wondering what to do with all the capital – India is facing an unprecedented inflow of foreign capital into the market and now needs to find new ways to cope with that challenge and opportunity.  Seeking Alpha

SE Asia Stocks-Markets subdued, Thailand leads falls. Reuters

Africa

China’s direct investment in Africa, excluding in the financial sector, shot up 78.6% – Mbendi, People.com.cn

IMF forecasts Kenya’s economy to grow by 2.7% in 2009 – A statement issued in Nairobi following the conclusion of a two-week visit to the East African nation said the economic performance is expected to improve gradually.Xinhuanet

Uganda’s Inflation Slowed to 13.3% in October – Uganda’s annual inflation rate declined to 13.3 percent in October after the prices of some foods fell, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics said.Bloomberg

IMF sees 3% Zimbabwe growth, warns on wages demands -Zimbabwe’s economy would grow by 3 percent this year due to improved policies said the IMF. Busrep

Sudan’s oil production has plunged to less than 500,000 barrels per day – Sudan’s oil production has plunged to less than 500,000 barrels per day in 2008/2009, said the minister of energy in an interview with Reuters on Oct. 25. Sudantribune

ArcelorMittal South Africa has posted a headline loss of R65 million – The third quarter loss represents a substantial improvement on the R607 million loss of the previous quarter. Mbendi

SA Rand Pares Loss After Steepest Intraday Decline in One Year – The rand posted its biggest intraday decline against the dollar in more than a year as the Tokyo Financial Exchange Inc. quoted a price on its Web site that was 35 percent below the rest of the market. Bloomberg, Update by Busrep

South Africa’s unemployment rate increased by 0.9% to 24.9% Mbendi

Middle-East

Mizuho Said to Form Investment Bank in Saudi Arabia – Mizuho Financial Group Inc., Japan’s third-largest bank by market value, received a license to start offering investment-banking services in Saudi Arabia. Bloomberg

Dubai’s Drake & Scull Q3 net profit $19 mln – Dubai-based contractor Drake & Scull International DSI.DU recorded a third-quarter net profit of 71 million dirhams ($19.33 million) on Monday and said it continued to review expansion opportunities in the region. Reuters

Most clicked articles last week:

Asian leaders seek to reduce Western trade ties Reuters

No Asia without us, India reminds Asean, Japan Hindu

East Asia Needs New Economic Model, Says Najib Bernama

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Newsletter – Emerging Markets #2

The Emerging Markets Club of ESADE, of which I am a member, has decided to develop a bi-weekly newsletter about Emerging Markets. These are the latest news about the market and if you wish to subscribe drop me an email and I will add you to the list.

Emerging Markets

EM Bonds strong – The emerging markets seem to be first economies to recover from the Financial Crisis as investors are buying an increasing amount of bonds issued by the emerging markets. The capital diversion to the EM is not only significant but clearly indicates where the economic future lies. Seeking Alpha

Latin America

Brazil – Petrobras issued USD 4bn in bonds, the largest issuance since 2000. Brazil’s economy seems strong and attractive despite the new tax on capital inflows. Marketwatch

Argentina spreads improve, Mexican peso falls Reuters

Argentina – Argentina’s Swap May Easily Succeed Investor Says.  Argentina’s offer to swap $20 billion of bonds that were held out of a 2005 restructuring will probably be accepted by investors who own most of the debt, Stone Harbor Investment Partners and Aberdeen Asset Management Plc said. Bloomberg

Uruguay – Leftist and Ex-President Head for Uruguay vote run-off. Former left-wing guerrilla fighter Jose Mujica led Uruguay’s presidential election on Sunday but was headed for a run-off against a conservative rival to steer one of Latin America’s most stable economies. NY Times

Mexico – Heineken’s Debt Poses Hurdle to Femsa Deal. Mexican Beer Business Offers Dutch Company a Much Needed Chance to Reduce Dependence on Europe, U.S. WSJ

Asia Pacific

East Asia Conference (EAC) – The East Asian nations are gaining in confidence, which was clearly illustrated during the conference in Bangkok. Topics included a common Asian currency as early as by 2015 to counteract the dependence of the falling USD, decreasing ties with Western economies and some even suggested to adopt new economic models specific for Asia. The dispute between the superpowers India and China however did not go unmentioned and India insists on its influence. Bernama – Asian economic model Stuff News – single currency, Xinhuanet on EAC, Reuters – decrease Western ties, Hindu – India’s ASEAN role

China-India conflict – During the East Asia Conference India and China were faced with some serious discussions about the poliitical relations as the border disputes, the relationships to the Tibetan leader Dalai Lama and the potential river diversion of the Brahmaputra away from India have reached unprecedented scale. Guardian

China – The pegging of the Chinese Yuan to the US dollar harms the export for China’s neighbouring countries. The devaluation of the USD and inheritently of the Yuan make China’s export products artificially cheap and therefore East Asian countries are pressuring China to revalue its currency. WSJ LiveMint

Best Financial Centers – The World Economic Forum ranked Britain, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and US as the best financial centers of the world. The article elaborates and highlights the pros and cons of each financial center. It is noteworthy that 3 of the 5 center are located in Asia Pacific! Wealth Bulletin

Singapore – Want to work and live in Singapore? Check out this website that provides you all the information you need about Singapore. Contact Singapore

Africa

SA farmers to rent land in Congo – The Republic of Congo has signed an agreement to lease 200,000 hectares of land to South African farmers. BBC

Rand Gain Erodes South Africa Profits, Hurting Stocks –The South African rand’s 28 percent rally against the dollar this year is eroding export earnings, slowing the economic recovery and making the nation’s equities the least attractive in emerging markets, Morgan Stanley says. Bloomberg

Nestlé Under Pressure to Renew Commercial Ties With Mugabes –International food giant Nestlé has this week come under growing pressure from groups loyal to Robert Mugabe and his family, to renew its recently severed commercial ties with the First Family. All Africa

Etisalat Invests U.S.$2 Billion in Network Expansion – Telecommunications giant, Etisalat, said it has spent over $2 billion on network expansion in Nigeria in the last one year. This is coming even as the United Arab Emirate GSM operator records over two million active subscribers in Nigeria within one year of its roll out in the country. All Africa

Zimbabwe – Privatization Opens Massive Infrastructure Opportunities. Zimbabwe plans to rehabilitate and expand existing infrastructure to support the envisioned economic growth. The government has developed a framework for the recapitalization of major public entities – a process that is opening up lucrative investment opportunities. All Africa

Kenyans to Buy Air, Bus Tickets Through M-Pesa – Listed telecoms operator, Safaricom, has integrated its M-Pesa money transfer service and data platform to enable users book and pay for their domestic air, road and rail travel through their data-enabled mobile phones. All Africa

This newsletter was sent by the ESADE Emerging Market Club.