Emerging Markets Daily - November 15
India's Big IPO Trading Week, Dubai Airports Sees Faster Global Recovery, Vodacom Buys Vodafone Egypt, China Property Woes, Miami: "The Capital of Latin America
The Top 5 Stories Shaping Emerging Markets from Global Media - November 15
Biggest Trading Week in India for IPO Debuts in More Than a Decade
Bloomberg
“Investors looking at newly listed shares in India will be busy this week. The third week of November concentrates the first day of trade for initial public offerings that together raised about $3.3 billion, the biggest weekly amount for the local market in 11 years. That includes Paytm’s debut on Thursday following its $2.4 billion offering, the country’s biggest on record.”
“A rallying stock market helped spur multiple technology unicorns to list in India since January, with proceeds raised in new-share sales at over $12 billion, already a record for a full year. Companies that listed in the country in 2021 rose by an average of 20% in the first session, Bloomberg data show.”
“PB Fintech Ltd., the operator of online insurance marketplace Policybazaar, kicks off the line-up on Monday after raising $761 million. Other debuts today are S.J.S. Enterprises Ltd. ($107 million) and Sigachi Industries Ltd. ($17 million). Then the big one, Paytm, begins trading on Thursday.” Filipe Pacheco reports.
Dubai Airports Chief Pushes Forward Full Recovery Forecast
Gulf News
“Dubai International (DXB) has raised its 2022 passenger forecasts from the current 57 million as governments worldwide lift COVID-19 travel restrictions, according to Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths.”
“The aviation industry head also said that a return to pre-COVID levels of passenger numbers will happen in 2024 compared to the earlier projection of 2025. ‘We’ll quite confidently assume that we’ll get back there rather quicker than we originally thought,’ said Griffiths…’”
“‘Europe’s long been open because they’ve been quite advanced with the vaccine and their measures to control the spread. Russia has been open and Africa is now starting to open up,’ said Griffiths. ‘The US opening up to Europe has been a major milestone, and we’re starting to see crucial travel flows like India-US starting to come back.’”
“Parts of Europe are facing a fourth wave of the virus, which could potentially dampen aviation sector recovery. ‘We’re probably through the worst now and people are much more confident about the risks of travel,’ said Griffiths.”
“More than a fourth wave, the Dubai Airports head is concerned about the return of Far East markets. ‘The shadow on the planet at the moment remains Asia and Australasia - Australia and New Zealand - where clearly their original strategy of locking down and trying to avoid the virus hasn’t really worked,’ said Griffiths. ‘Those are the major markets that we are really dependent on to see a full recovery of our entire traffic.’” John Benny reports.
South Africa’s Vodacom Buys Majority Stake in Vodafone Egypt
The East African
“South Africa’s Vodacom Group has agreed to buy a 55 percent controlling stake in Vodafone Egypt for $2.73 billion as part of the telco’s pan-African expansion bid.”
“The shares are currently held by UK’s Vodafone Group Plc. This comes barely six months after Vodacom, through the Global Partnership for Ethiopia — a consortium led by Kenya’s Safaricom — acquired a licence to start operations in the horn of Africa next year.”
“Vodacom Group will fund its acquisition in Vodafone Egypt by issuing 242 million new ordinary shares priced at 135.75 South African Rands ($8.88) per share and $548 million in cash. This values the proposed transaction at about $2.73 billion…”
“Vodacom, which also acquired 35 percent stake in Kenya’s Safaricom from Vodafone Group in 2017, currently has operations in South Africa, Tanzania, Lesotho, Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique.”
“Vodafone Egypt is the largest mobile network operator in Egypt with 43 percent revenue market share, offering a range of integrated telecommunications services including voice, data and mobile money services to 43 million consumer and enterprise customers…” The East African reports.
Worst Is Yet to Come on China Property Market
South China Morning Post
“New home prices in China fell by the most in six years in October, as analysts warned a deeper correction is yet to come.”
“The average price across 70 cities dropped 0.25 per cent from the previous month, according to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday. That was much larger then the 0.08 per cent decline in September and the biggest monthly drop since 2015.”
“Fifty-two of the 70 cities tracked saw new homes prices slide, while the cost of a lived-in home declined in 64 of them, the data showed. ‘China’s home price correction is likely to persist until the second quarter of 2022 because of a dip in the confidence of buyers,’ said Raymond Cheng, head of China and Hong Kong research at CGS-CIMB Securities.
“He said developers have had to cut prices by 10 to 15 per cent as the market reels from a liquidity crunch sparked by China Evergrande’s debt crisis. ‘The worst for the property market is yet to come,’ he added.” SCMP reports.
How Miami Became the “Capital of Latin America”
Financial Times
“Miami is often called the ‘capital of Latin America’ — a city that has, for some 40 years, been run by Latin Americans and their descendants. Most Miamians, from waiters and dental hygienists, to politicians and bank presidents, have Latin origins.”
“In Miami-Dade county — the metropolitan area that includes the City of Miami — 73 per cent of residents identify as ‘Hispanic or Latino’ and some 66 per cent speak Spanish at home.”
“Having marinated here for decades, Latin American culture now infuses almost everything in Miami. Galleries showcase Latin American artists; restaurants feature experimental Latin American cuisine. Politicians campaign in Spanish, promising to influence US foreign policy toward their constituents’ native or ancestral countries.”
“Spanish is omnipresent from the moment you arrive at Miami International Airport. AM radio announcers report the local news in Cuban-accented Spanish; billboards tout Spanish-speaking personal-injury lawyers; and telenovelas and Spanish church services play on TV. In many shops, restaurants and Ubers, you’re addressed in Spanish first.”
“English is spoken too, but in distinct Miami dialects. Anglo-Miamians like me tend to sound like New Yorkers. (I’ve been told that I speak Spanish ‘like a gringa from Miami’.) Bilingual locals toggle seamlessly between Spanish and English, often within the same sentence, and young Miami natives from Latin American backgrounds tend to speak a Spanish-influenced dialect of English or sprinkle Spanish slang into English, even if they don’t speak much Spanish.” Pamela Druckerman reports.
“If you want to destroy something in this life, be it acne, a blemish or the human soul, all you need to do is to surround it with thick walls. It will dry up inside.”
-- Elif Shafak, Turkish-British novelist
