How the World Bank’s Pandemic Bonds Became Controversial, Outbound Middle East capital seeks emerging asset classes, How Middle East social enterprises proved their mettle amid the pandemic.
Covid-19 Finance: How the World Bank’s Pandemic Bonds Became Controversial –
Read more at Bloomberg
In late January 2015, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said: “Investing in health is the right thing to do ethically and morally, but it’s also the right thing to do if you can do basic arithmetic.”
Academics from Harvard to the London School of Economics have lambasted the program for being ineffective and expensive, and the World Bank has confirmed it won’t issue a second round of the debt.
Here’s how the pandemic bonds worked.
The World Bank would sell $320 million of debt to investors. In the event of a pandemic, that debt would be written off and the principal would accrue to the bank to be distributed to needy countries.
Susan Erikson, a professor of health science at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, B.C. posits that pandemic bonds are a “harbinger of future global health finance,” allowing the responsibility of public health provision to shift from governments to financiers, and setting up a profit motive to address human suffering.
Investment lessons: Outbound Middle East capital seeks emerging asset classes
Read more at Gulf Business
Middle East investors are considering funding new developments as returns of 30 per cent to 40 per cent are currently being achieved from the logistics sector.
Middle East investors have also increased their exposure to real estate through indirect mechanisms such as funds, and the purchase of interests in both listed and non-listed companies holding real estate.
Private investors, or High Net Worth Individuals (‘HNWIs’) are increasingly concerned about the region’s geopolitical instability, translating into increased demand from HNWIs to invest in foreign real estate markets.
How Middle East social enterprises proved their mettle amid the pandemic
Read more at Arab News
In Tunisia, the Banque Alimentaire Durable dispensed food aid to needy families during the month of Ramadan and beyond, while in Lebanon, the non-governmental organization Abaad fielded nearly twice as many calls on its domestic abuse helpline in the first four months of the year than it did over the whole of 2019.
Nocentini says that “Investors used to view these companies as small initiatives or non-profit organizations. However, the pandemic made them realize that companies who are seeking to create a positive impact are scalable, sustainable, resilient, and indeed investable.”
Brexit sends ripples of uncertainty down France’s coast
Read more at Arab News
With just three weeks left to go before Britain is completely out of the European Union, no one knows if there will be a post-Brexit trade deal or a chaotic economic rupture between the two sides.
For Mathieu Pinto, a 28-year-old French fisherman, a no-deal Brexit will disastrously impact his right to fish in British waters – “A no-deal Brexit) will already impact us hugely. And then we are going to have to share our French waters with foreigners as well”
Saving British waters for UK fishermen became a rallying cry, fueling the Brexit vote for the UK to leave the bloc.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said this week there’s a “strong possibility” that negotiations on a new economic relationship with the EU to take effect Jan. 1 will fail”
SoftBank Debates Going Private in Buyout Giving Son Big Enough Stake – Bloomberg
Read more at Bloomberg
Under Japanese regulations, Son could compel other shareholders to sell when he gets to 66% ownership, perhaps without paying a premium. The disclosure rules in Japan, where management buyouts are rare, have gray areas that would give SoftBank room to manoeuvre.
Some analysts are skeptical Son would pursue a buyout now given such challenges — and his propensity to use any cash he has for ambitious deals.
Blackstone, Brookfield Bet on India Office Reits For Yield – Bloomberg
Read more at Bloomberg
Some of the world’s biggest investors are snapping up office space in India with plans to turn them into real estate investment trusts, betting that demand will sustain and provide attractive yields in coming decades.
High returns are luring investors to REITs amid low-interest rates globally. The REITs already listed in India provide yields of 7.5%-8%, compared with 3%-5% in cities such as Singapore, Beijing and Sydney.
The coronavirus outbreak has left India’s office-property market largely unscathed.