Latin America is a fertile region for renewable energy development but government support is sadly lacking. John Rumsey reports from Rio de Janeiro on how banks are getting involved in project investment.

Moves to make the renminbi freely convertible, combined with the growth of rival financial centres on the Chinese mainland such as Shanghai, are chipping away at Hong Kong’s importance to international investors. Karina Robinson reports.

With a growing financial industry and a host of new sectors set to develop, will Pakistan hold its own amid market slowdown and troubled domestic politics? Karina Robinson reports from Karachi.

Banks have made little impact on the Hungarian economy. Is that what is keeping US players interested in the market? Nick Kochan reports.

Despite an optimistic outlook on the banking sector in Turkey, political dilemmas and the global economic environment weigh heavy on the country. Stephen Timewell reports from Istanbul.

Austrian banks and companies have been looking to central and eastern Europe for growth – a successful strategy that will continue, reports Geraldine Lambe.

The practice of companies establishing subsidiaries to insure their own risks directly without accessing the commercial insurance market dates back more than a century. However, the captive insurance industry began to take off in the 1960s, and Bermuda set itself up as the original home for the offshore segment.

Edward Russell-Walling reports on how Georgia’s first ever issue on the international bond market was a resounding success.

Shamsad Akhtar, governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, has an ambitious vision for the bank to have a greater say in economic policy, she tells Karina Robinson.

The economy of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg relies heavily on its financial sector, as it contributed approximately 30% of gross domestic product in the last fiscal year.