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Posts tagged ‘Stock markets’

Jun 20

International Prospect Research News for June 20, 2011


“China is on track to complete one skyscraper every five days over the next three years,” according to the Financial Times’ Beyond BRICs blog. Meanwhile, Business Insider posted images of “China’s ghost cities” – massive, deserted residential developments built on speculation in various parts of the country. The Chinese government’s efforts to control such speculation reportedly caused one developer to pull “China’s most expensive apartment”  – listed at US$46.2 million — off the market last week.

The Economic Times discussed the trend of Indian HNWIs “cluster buying” homes in London for personal, family, and staff use.

Turkey saw 12.6% foreign investment rise during the first four months of 2011. While this number was primarily driven by investors from the EU, the Hürriyet Daily News reported, HNWIs from the Gulf states “seeking a safe place to store their cash” drove up Turkey’s foreign investment totals in March.

Last week, the Russian government announced the creation of a US$10 billion Russian Direct Investment Fund, designed to attract international investors to “Russian growth companies operating in sectors like IT, healthcare and infrastructure,” according to Russia Briefing.

Stock exchanges around the world, including the London Stock Exchange, are competing to attract Indian IPOs.

Art.sy may turn out to be the “holy grail of private [art] market prices,” according to The Art Newspaper.

Feb 17

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International Prospect Research Links for February 17, 2011

Philanthropy

  • The January/ February issue of Global Giving Matters profiles prominent Turkish businesswoman and philanthropist Güler Sabancı, who heads her family’s Sabancı Foundation. In addition to an interview with Sabancı, the article also includes general information about family foundations and philanthropy in Turkey:

“The growth of the Sabancı Foundation could be viewed as part of a larger trend in philanthropy in Turkey, with businesses and wealthy families using a mixture of grantmaking and institution-building to focus on particular issues.”

Business

  • Western demand for access to Asian markets was a major force behind this week’s announced merger of NYSE Euronext and Deutche Boerse, according to Malaysia’s The Star.

Art

  • The “world’s most expensive sunflower seeds” – as displayed in a work of art by Ai Weiwei – recently fetched £349,250 on auction in London, according to Jingdaily.com. The site’s auction coverage included this observation:
“The influence of increased Asian bidding continues to have a significant impact on the contemporary art world.”

Dec 16

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International Prospect Research Links for December 16, 2010

Last Friday, the EU announced new regulations on bankers’ bonuses will go into effect on January 1, 2011. These regulations will cover bonuses awarded for work done in 2010. These new rules will apply to Americans working on overseas assignments in European offices, too, according to the Financial Times (subscription required).

Cape Town, South Africa’s V&A Waterfront, which is  “almost certainly the country’s most valuable piece of real estate,” sold on December 10 for R10 Billion (US$1.46 billion), according to the Mail & Guardian.

The European edition of China Daily published an article on December 9 about the scope of real estate bubbles in various cities around China.

On a related note, the Urban Land Institute and PwC published “Emerging Trends in Real Estate® Asia Pacific 2011” last Thursday.

“Shanghai plans to be Asia’s top stock market by 2013 and launch 24-hour trading by the end of the decade as it works towards setting up an international board,” according to Agence France Presse.

Meanwhile, Fast Company reported that several Chinese social media companies plan to file US IPOs in the new year.

A Financial Times article, “China’s listed banks still at behest of the state” (subscription required), discussed the relationship between publicly-traded banks and the Chinese government.

The Guardian’s Voluntary Sector blog recently focused on planned giving in the UK.