Emerging Markets Newsletter

Semester 2 Week 2

Hey Legend!

Happy Monday and welcome to Week 2! 🥳

We hope you have hit the ground running after the first week of Semester 2, and aren’t already behind on lectures 🏃🧐

This semester, we have been cooking up an assortment of engaging events for you, the first of which is happening THIS WEEK! Keep reading below to find out more 🔎

Updates

Did someone say FREE COFFEE?

This week we are hosting a Coffee Catchup where you can meet the EMN team 🙌 and expand your social network over a hot cup of coffee ☕️

• 📍 Mid Square Coffee, 119 Pelham St, Carlton VIC 3053

• 📅 Thursday 7th August

• 🕛 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm

President’s Selection

A Message from Prepped Talent

Gain industry expertise and practical skills in Mergers & Acquisitions with Prepped Talent. Stand out in the competitive application process for Investment Banking, Private Equity and Corporate Development with our end-to-end course on M&A— from investment strategy right through to the signing of the share purchase agreement.

From there, we provide exclusive networking opportunities, practical workshops with industry professionals, direct employer introductions, and 1:1 internship and job search coaching—supporting you until you land the role you want.

See how Prepped Talent can help you start a coveted career in High Finance through our comprehensive Break into Mergers & Acquisitions Program.

EMN members receive a 20% discount using code: EMN20

The Numbers

Markets pulled back this week, with equities and Bitcoin all falling. Gold and crude oil bucked the trend with solid gains, while year-to-date performance across most assets remains positive.

The Roundup

This week, India’s currency suffers the worst drop in almost three years, China expands military cooperation with Russia and Egypt launches Africa’s largest solar park.

India

India sees a whirlwind of action this week - from market shocks and political heat 📉⚠️ to billion-dollar deals and a historic space launch 🚀💰. Here's everything you need to know 👇📊.

• The Indian rupee suffered its worst monthly drop in nearly three years, weighed down by U.S. tariff concerns and persistent portfolio outflows 📉💸, with traders and analysts seeing little relief for the currency in the near term 😟📊. The rupee fell to an over five-month low of 87.74 following U.S. President Donald Trump's threat of a 25% tariff on Indian exports 🚫📦.

• Tata Motors plans to raise about 1 billion euros ($1.14 billion) of equity to repay the loan funding its $4.5 billion to buy Iveco's trucks and bus business 🚚💰. Meanwhile, National Securities Depository Ltd's NATS.NS $458 million IPO was fully subscribed within hours of its Wednesday launch as investors rushed to back its leading position in India's rapidly growing securities market 📈📝.

• India vowed to protect its labour-intensive agriculture sector, a central sticking point in bogged-down trade talks with the U.S., as Washington threatened 25% tariffs, triggering outrage from the opposition and a slump in the rupee 🌾⚠️. India's opposition blames the Modi government for diplomatic failure as the rupee and equity indexes fall after Trump's tariff threat 📉🗣️.

• India launched a $1.5 billion, first-of-its-kind radar imaging satellite built in collaboration with NASA, deploying it to help enhance global monitoring of climate change and natural disasters 🌍🛰️. The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar, or NISAR satellite, is the first such collaboration between the Indian Space Research Organisation and U.S. space agency NASA 🤝🚀.

China

This week, we explore how the CCP aims to combat China’s growing demographic crisis, falling industry activity, investments into Angolan agriculture, and Chinese military cooperation with Hanoi and Moscow.

• China has announced a sweet new deal for new parents! 🥳 They’re offering annual family subsidy payments of $768 for children under the age of 3 👶🍼. The CCP stated that the initiative aims to “improve public wellbeing” and ease the “burden of raising children” — a much-needed push as China grapples with plummeting birthrates 📉 and a rapidly aging population 👵👴. 

• China invests $350m into Angolan agriculture, targeting soybean and grain farming infrastructure🌾🌱. The investment from Chinese state-backed firms SinoHydro Group and Citic includes establishing grain bases across 6 provinces and opening a new seed research and testing centre🔬.

• Sino-Russian military cooperation receives major boost following the “Joint Sea 2025” military exercise in the Sea of Japan. The naval drills reportedly hosted Chinese guided missile destroyers, the “Shaoxing” and “Urumqi”👊⚓️, alongside naval aircraft and submarines from both sides. This comes as China concluded its first-ever joint military drills with Vietnam.

• Following last week's report on industrial profits, China received another setback as factory activity reached a 6-month low in July, under-performing analysts forecasts🔮. The downturn comes as export activity seems to be waning, with exports down 📊🔻 7% relative to last week. The National Bureau of Statistics instead blamed poor weather and heavy flooding.

Africa

East Africa is growing thanks to strong harvests and tech use 🌱💻. Green energy and digital finance are expanding fast 💡📲. But inflation, weak currencies, and conflict remain challenges in parts of the continent 💸⚠️. Despite this, investor interest is holding strong 📊🌍.

• East Africa is growing well 📈. Ethiopia and Kenya lead, while Nigeria and Ghana struggle with rising fuel prices ⛽. South Africa’s inflation has eased 🧊, but Sahel food prices stay high due to poor rainfall and supply issues ⚠️.

• More Africans are getting access to digital finance 💳📱. Mobile loans in South Africa are helping gig workers, and Morocco approved $150M in digital bonds 💵. Ecobank and Mastercard teamed up for easier payments across 20+ countries 🌍.

• Burkina Faso extended its state of emergency due to attacks 💥. Somalia received peacekeepers for election support 🛡️. Zimbabwe saw unrest during protests 🚫, while ECOWAS warned Niger to restore stability. Leaders are working to keep control and avoid conflict 🤝.

• Egypt launched Africa’s largest solar Park, that is the Benban Solar Park ☀️. It will power over 1 million homes and bring in $2B in investment 💰. This clean energy success is boosting Egypt’s image and encouraging other nations to follow 🔋🌱.

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 💚