Photo: iStock
Eurasia
17/03/2024 18:30
Most international investors in recent years have shied away from the government's domestic securities amid fears of currency devaluation and concern about taking back money from a country suffering from a severe dollar shortage.
In just two weeks, a $35 billion investment deal with the UAE, an expanded $8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, a 600-basis-point interest rate hike and an exchange rate shift put the domestic fixed income market back into the spotlight.
After the positive developments, Moody's revised Egypt's outlook from negative to positive, attributing this to "significant official and bilateral support" and "policy steps taken" over the past days, but keeping the country's credit rating at Caa1, which still means sovereign debt carries very high risk. Goldman Sachs Farouk Sousse told clients in a note that the latest developments had revived "the near-term investment hypothesis in riskier Egyptian assets."
There are many aspects of the Chinese economy that are interesting. The most striking thing about the economy from a Western perspective is that while the Chinese economy is a market-based economy insofar as prices are set by the market, investment in China remains tightly controlled by the government.
The West's response to the challenge of a rising China is bloc formation, which is not in the interest of smaller countries. It would be advisable to change the sanctions regime and focus on mutually beneficial, win-win cooperation.
Malaysia's geopolitical neutrality and strategic positioning are key selling points to multinational semiconductor companies looking for investment destinations.