IMF-India: Selected Issues
March 2, 2016--SUMMARY
The background papers for the 2016 Article IV explore key issues affecting the Indian economy, and implications for fiscal, monetary, financial sector and other structural policies.
The first chapter evaluates the build-up of corporate and banking sector vulnerabilities in India, linked to the past macroeconomic slowdown and supply-side bottlenecks, particularly
in the infrastructure sector. It finds that low profitability, coupled with high leverage, has put a strain on firms' debt repayment capacity. Stress tests of corporate balance sheets suggest that their exposure to potential shocks has continued to increase. Importantly, the weaker position of domestic corporates has also accounted for a substantial deterioration of banks' asset
quality. Stress test simulations suggest that potential capitalization needs should be manageable, but may require additional fiscal outlays.
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Source: IMF
China Adds Support for Slower Economy With Reserve Ratio Cut
February 29, 2016--China's central bank stepped up efforts to cushion its economic slowdown amid plunging stock prices and a weakening currency, cutting the amount of cash the nation's lenders must lock away.
The required reserve ratio will drop by 0.5 percentage points effective March 1, the People's Bank of China said on its website Monday. That will take the level to 17 percent for the biggest banks, still one of the highest such ratios in the world.
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Source: Washington Post
Approval of Initial listing (ETF): MAXIS JAPAN Quality 150 Index ETF (Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management)
February 29, 2016--Today, Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc. (TSE) approved the listing of new ETF managed by "Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co., Ltd.". The ETF will be listed on Tuesday, March 22, 2016.
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Source: Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc. (TSE)
China halts overseas investment schemes
February 28, 2016--Beijing has mothballed two pioneering outbound investment schemes, according to people with knowledge of the situation, in its latest bid to stem capital outflows and shore up the renminbi.
The halt in the allotment of quotas reflects fears over the...
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Source: Google.com
China market's gradual opening credit positive for foreign asset managers: Moody's
February 27, 2016--China's new rules that will further relax the quota allocation and foreign exchange control is credit positive for foreign asset managers, Moody's said in a report on Friday.
Earlier this month, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange of China announced that it will give licensed foreign institutional investors--those participating in the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFII) program--more flexibility to invest in onshore investment products.
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Source: xinhuanet.com
China admits to renminbi image problem
February 26, 2016--China needs to eliminate market expectations of continued currency depreciation, the head of its central bank admitted on Friday as he argued the country had ample foreign exchange reserves despite recent depletions.
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Source: FT.com
Japan Considers Recognizing Bitcoin As A Currency
February 25, 2016--Regulators in Japan have proposed considering and treating virtual currencies, such as bitcoin, as methods of payment and settlement similar to conventional fiat currencies.
Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) is considering legislative revisions that would recognize bitcoins and other digital currencies as equivalents to conventional currencies, citing that the revisions see bitcoin as "fulfilling the functions of currency,"..
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Source: emergingequity.org
Yet a flood of overseas money into its bond markets may not materialize right away
February 25, 2016--China is warming to a new source of cash to fund its burgeoning debt pile: foreign investors.
Yet a flood of overseas money into its bond markets may not materialize right away.
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Source: Wall Street Journal
Samsung lowers ETF fees across the board
February 24, 2016--South Korea's Samsung Asset Management has cut fees on all of its exchange traded funds in its home market while gearing up to launch leveraged and inverse ETFs in Hong Kong.
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Source: FT.com
IMF Working Paper-Private Sector Activity in Hong Kong SAR and the Fed: Transmission Effects through the Currency Board
February 23, 2016--Summary: As the U.S. Fed begins to increase the Federal Funds rate,interest rates in Hong Kong SAR will rise in tandem under the Currency Board system.
While domestic economic activity in Hong Kong SAR remained resilient in previous rate hike cycles, there is a concern that the impact of higher interest rates would be larger this time due to historic high levels of leverage in both household and corporate sectors. However, macroprudential measures have contained the debt service burden among new borrowers and leverage quality of corporate sector is healthier than its peers in the region. Empirical estimations of aggregate consumption and corporate investment show that private domestic demand is likely to remain robust with the anticipated gradual increase in interest rates over the next few years and taking into account the buffers in the system.
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