Frontier Markets Wrap Frontier external risks still a big concern A handful of the more vulnerable Frontier Markets, including Ukraine, Pakistan and Bahrain, have received (or are close to getting) IMF or bilateral funding, but external risks remain a key concern... 26th October 2018 · 1 min read
Frontier Markets Wrap Frontier market sovereign debt fears on the rise Sovereign balance sheets in most of the large emerging economies are in reasonable shape, but those in a few of the smaller Frontier Market economies are very fragile. And investors’ concerns have... 26th September 2018 · 1 min read
Frontier Markets Wrap Frontier recovery remains on track Frontier financial markets have endured a torrid 2018, but this hasn’t been accompanied by a deterioration in the hard activity data. Admittedly, growth in the largest frontier economy, Nigeria... 29th August 2018 · 1 min read
Frontier Markets Wrap Weak balance sheets come into focus Market concerns over fragile balance sheets have forced policymakers in a number of frontier economies to take action over the past month. Strains in the balance of payments prompted the authorities... 25th July 2018 · 1 min read
Frontier Markets Wrap Frontier dollar bonds under pressure Emerging market dollar bonds have struggled over the past month, but those in frontier markets have typically fared much worse. Of course, risky assets in general have sold off amid fears of a global... 27th June 2018 · 1 min read
Frontier Markets Wrap Frontiers bear the brunt of the sell-off Frontier financial markets have been among the main victims of the recent EM sell-off. The Argentine peso has been by far the worst performing frontier currency, falling by around 17% against the... 31st May 2018 · 1 min read
Frontier Markets Wrap Public debt fears concentrated in smaller frontiers Public debt positions across the emerging world have come under scrutiny recently and the risks appear to be concentrated in frontier markets. In aggregate, the debt-to-GDP ratio of frontier... 30th April 2018 · 1 min read
Frontier Markets Wrap Frontier currencies come under pressure Most major Emerging Market currencies have fared well over the past month even as concerns of a global trade war have mounted, but a number of those in Frontier Markets have struggled. Indeed, only... 23rd March 2018 · 1 min read
Frontier Markets Wrap Appetite for international bond sales remains strong International bond markets have been inundated with debt issuance from frontier markets over the past couple of years and there’s no sign yet that appetite is waning. Since the start of this year... 28th February 2018 · 1 min read
Frontier Markets Wrap Oil exporters take mixed approach to higher oil prices The recent rally in oil prices has brightened the outlook for the majority of frontier oil exporters. In the Gulf, for example, higher oil prices and strong balance sheets have enabled the authorities... 26th January 2018 · 1 min read
Frontier Markets Wrap Frontier economies to strengthen in 2018 Frontier markets have enjoyed a recovery in 2017, with aggregate GDP growth set to reach close to 3%, up from a seven-year low of 2.3% in 2016. Frontiers in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa have... 20th December 2017 · 1 min read
Frontier Markets Wrap Political turmoil rocks frontiers Frontier markets have been gripped by political upheaval in recent weeks. In the largest frontier economy, Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (known as MbS) has overseen a high-profile... 24th November 2017 · 2 mins read
Frontier Markets Wrap Recovery in frontier economies continues The raft of GDP data released over the past month or so showed that the recovery in frontier markets strengthened in Q2. According to our GDP-weighted measure of growth, frontier economies expanded by... 25th October 2017 · 1 min read
Frontier Markets Wrap Oil price jump fails to lift markets in oil exporters The jump in oil prices, from $51pb at the start of September to around $59pb at the time of writing, should provide a fillip to the large frontier oil economies, such as Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and... 26th September 2017 · 1 min read
Frontier Markets Wrap Politics centre stage In a quiet month for economic news across frontier markets, politics has provided a regular stream of headlines. Investors were buoyed by results from Argentina’s primary elections which showed that... 31st August 2017 · 1 min read
Frontier Markets Wrap Frontier recovery still on track The recovery in frontier economies continued over the first half of this year. GDP growth averaged around 2.0% y/y in Q1, twice the rates seen in mid-2016. It would have been stronger still were it... 31st July 2017 · 1 min read
