Emerging Markets Newsletter

Semester 2 Week 12

Hey Legend!

Happy Monday and welcome to Week 12! 🥳

This marks the final edition of our newsletter for the year 😞 (we will miss you!)

Thank you to everyone who’s supported our growth, whether it’s coming to our events 🥳, spreading the good word 🤝, or reading our fantastic newsletter every week 📰. We appreciate it more than you know 🙏

We know Week 12 can be rough, so if you’re feeling like shit, remember: pressure turned dinosaur poop into diamonds 💎🦖. We wish you the best for your exams, keep up the hard work, smash out those practice papers, we believe in you 💯

Before we let you go for the year, we’ve got one last event for you and a chance to pilot EMN merch 👕. Check it out below 👇

Updates

Master PowerPoint – EMN Think-Cell Workshop

Learn how to create professional 🧑‍💼, data-driven slides 📈in minutes, perfect for case comps 🥇, consulting projects 🤝, or just becoming a slide monkey 🐒

• 📍 Venue: Zoom

• ⏰ Time: 7.30pm

• 📅 Date: Thursday, 23rd October 2025

• 🎟️ RSVP: HERE

EMN Merch

We’re planning an EMN merch drop 👕, fill out this quick EOI to help us decide what to release and be in to win free merch 🥳

• 🎟️ EOI FORM: HERE

President’s Selection

A Message from think-cell

Create professional slides faster and more effectively with think-cell. Increase the ROI of every presentation by turning raw data into impactful charts, layouts, and visual stories in seconds. From there, we provide automation tools, 250+ templates, brand-consistent resources, and seamless collaboration features, supporting you until your slides look world-class.

Download think-cell suite today via this link with your unimelb email and copy the license key below for free installation.

EMN License Key: WG58A-3DNMS-6943U-Q626M-WTQAC

The Numbers

Markets recovered following Trump’s tariff threats last week, with gold producing massive gains this week as investors sought safety amid continued economic uncertainty. Oil continues to fall, now sitting below USD$58 a barrel. Overall, asset classes continue to experience broad growth despite rather contradictory economic conditions and increased speculation of an AI-induced market bubble.

The Roundup

Global markets saw contrasting developments across regions, with India powering ahead on gold milestones, capital inflows, and assertive energy diplomacy, even as it tightens pharmaceutical oversight. In China, deflationary pressures and political crackdowns coincided with new listings and export controls shaping its economic outlook. Across Africa, fuel price hikes, mining scandals, and political unrest underscore the continent’s complex balance between reform, growth, and instability.

India

From record-breaking gold reserves and billions in blockbuster deals to bold energy diplomacy and life-saving pharma crackdowns, India is making headlines on every front. Buckle up for a whirlwind update on how India is shaping its growth story and global footprint.

• India’s gold reserves have just crossed US$100 billion for the first time even as the RBI’s actual purchases slowed sharply in 2025 🏅📈. Gold’s share in India’s forex reserves has surged to ~14.7%, the highest since 1996–97, showing how valuation gains are reshaping reserve composition 🌍🔒. Despite an overall decline in foreign exchange reserves (down ~$2.18 billion to $697.784 billion), this pivot underlines India’s strategy to lean into gold as a diversification instrument 🛡️💰. 

• Goldman Sachs’ advisory on 25 Indian deals worth ~US$17B YTD highlights the surge of large transactions powering India’s capital markets 🏗️📈. With a ₹2.6 lakh crore IPO pipeline, ₹77.5B in new bond issues, and FIIs turning net buyers again, liquidity and investor confidence are rebounding strongly 🧭📊. Backed by the IMF’s upgraded 6.6% growth forecast, these trends affirm India’s structural resilience and its ascent as a global financial powerhouse 🌱💼.

• Amid Trump’s claim that India vowed to halt Russian oil imports, New Delhi reaffirmed its stance that energy choices hinge on national interest and market logic 🛢️. Despite U.S. pressure, refiners like MRPL continue sourcing discounted Russian crude while exploring diversification to cushion geopolitical risks ⚖️🌍. Moscow, meanwhile, praised India’s “self-respect” in maintaining energy cooperation despite global headwinds 🔗🔥.

• India is enforcing WHO standards for all drugmaker plants after at least 24 child deaths from toxic cough syrup in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh which had diethylene glycol levels 500× above the safe limit⚠️ 💊. With over 10,000 pharma units under scrutiny and licenses revoked for offenders like Sresan Pharmaceuticals, inspections and shutdowns are intensifying to prevent further tragedies 🚨🔬.

China

Leading up to the Fourth Plenum this week to formulate China’s five-year plan for its economy, growth remains sluggish with the Consumer Price Index falling more than expected. Trade tensions with the U.S. have escalated through China’s imposition of restrictions on rare earth mineral exports. Additionally, top military generals have been expelled amid a continuing anti-corruption purge.

• China’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) has continued to remain deflationary 🛍️, with new figures revealing a 0.3% fall in prices, steeper than estimates of a 0.1% decline 📉😧. Although core inflation rose by 1% 💸, trade tensions and sluggish economic growth suggest this deflation may persist ⏳.

• Chinese self-driving car companies Pony․ai and WeRide have received approval to list shares in Hong Kong 🚙🏙️, joining a growing number of Chinese companies seeking secondary listings 🌏. The China Securities Regulatory Commission has permitted the two companies to list 102 million shares each 📊🧑‍💻.

• Foreign firms must now obtain Chinese government approval 🫡 to export goods that contain 0.1% or more Chinese rare earth minerals 💎💾. This move tightens China’s control over rare earths 🔐, targeting vulnerabilities in the American economy amid the ongoing trade tensions between the two countries 👀⚠️.

• Anti-corruption crackdowns have persisted 😳, with nine top military generals expelled after being suspected of financial crimes that violated party discipline 💰🚫. The generals are believed to now face military prosecution 🪖☠️.

Africa

Egypt hikes fuel prices. Mining revenue underreporting, in the DRC, sparks legal fallout. Political instability deepens in Madagascar’s military coup and Kenya’s police shooting, causing crackdowns and unrest. Africa’s infrastructure push stalls under financing bottlenecks despite strong fundamentals.

• Egypt has implemented its second 2025 price hike for petroleum products🛢️🛞, by up to 12.9%, to reduce energy subsidies and narrow its growing budget deficits. The government aims to balance subsidy cuts with IMF-backed reforms under an $8 billion loan program 💸.

• DRC’s Court of Auditors uncovered that mining companies, like Glencore & CMOC, failed to report $16.8B in revenue from 2018-2023🚨💰💎.

• Police opened fire on mourners during a chaotic public viewing of former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga. This led to least two confirmed fatalities, causing political tensions to flare🚔💀📉.

• Africa’s water crisis threatens long-term growth, with necessary $30B p/a funding blocked by outdated risk perceptions that inflate borrowing costs despite low infrastructure loan default rates💧🚫🏦.

See you all next week!

We hope you enjoyed reading our newsletter! There are plenty of facts for you to drop in your next conversation to sound more intelligent. Make sure to share this artistic marvel with a friend!

Good luck for your studies, we know you smart cookies will smash it.

If you have any inquiries please email [email protected]

We look forward to seeing you at our next event!

Best regards,

The EMN Team 💚

Our Amazing Partners