Following a decade of conflicts, Western Balkan countries accomplished robust economic growth in the 2000s. This growth pattern was domestic demand driven and externally financed, hence was hampered significantly by the global financial crisis and subsequent euro area debt crisis. Despite modest...

This Note provides guidance to securities markets regulators in emerging market economies (EMEs) about key regulatory issues that could affect the issuance of debt instruments for infrastructure financing over which they have some control. The Note focuses on three areas (placement regime,...

This Policy Note focuses on distribution channels, the role they play in product diversification and costs, and how regulation can promote competition in mutual funds (MFs) distribution. In many emerging market economics (EMEs) where both the capital markets and the MFs have reached certain...

Poland's capital markets can play a crucial supporting role to the ongoing economic development and efficient allocation of credit. Capital markets will become increasingly important to meet the long-term funding needs of strategic sectors, including large, medium and small entities. Expansion...

Capital markets in Serbia are shallow and relatively underdeveloped. The only market segment that functions comparatively well is the government bond market. The contribution of capital markets to financing the economy is limited. The private sector is not making use of non-government bond...

This report contains the assessments of BAHTNET and TSD based on the PFMI. The assessment was undertaken in the context of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) of Thailand in November 2018. The assessors were Gynedi Srinivas and Dorothee...

The Vietnamese economy has done well in 2019. In the context of increasing global uncertainty,Vietnam will most certainly be among the fastest growing economies in the world, with a GDP growth rate of approximately 6.8 percent. This rate is almost three times faster than the world average (2.6...

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) face significant financing gaps that stifle innovation and economic growth. The credit gap alone is estimated at dollar 4.5 trillion as of 2017 for emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) only. Bank financing has been the traditional source of...

The World Bank Group prepared this report, Climate Change in APEC: Assessing Risks, Preparing Financial Markets, and Mobilizing Institutional Investors to inform policymakers, financial sector regulators, and investors from across APEC member economies about the interconnected climate change...