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Chinese fund manager GF International launches MSCI China A International ETF
July 27, 2015--Chinese asset manager GF International Investment Management Ltd on Monday said it will launch an exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking the MSCI China A International Index, becoming the first ETF in Asia to track the index.
The index was introduced in June last year and represents the A share component of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index when the latter fully includes A shares-or stock traded in Shanghai or Shenzhen by mainland investors and some foreign institutions.
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Source: Reuters
Singapore at 50 Confronts Aging, Economic Restructuring
July 23, 2015--Singapore's economy performing well, with full employment, low inflation
Greater emphasis on skills and productivity
Growing stress on equity, with spending on health, education, infrastructure
Singapore's economy continues to perform well, and is expected to grow at about 3 percent in 2014-15, and enjoy full employment and low inflation, according to the IMF's latest economic assessment of the city-state.view more
view the IMF SINGAPORE
2015 ARTICLE IV CONSULTATION
Source: IMF
IMF-Japan: Ramping up Policy Actions for Lasting Economic Change
July 23, 2015--Japan's prospects improved, but stronger structural reforms critical to meet long-term challenges
Need for balanced, credible fiscal consolidation, while supporting growth
Complement further monetary easing by more market guidance, communication.
Abenomics has lifted Japan out of the doldrums, according to the IMF's latest assessment of the Asian economy. But, policies need to be reinforced to end the lingering deflationary mindset, raise growth, restore fiscal sustainability, and maintain financial stability without undue reliance on yen depreciation.view more
view the IM JAPAN
2015 ARTICLE IV CONSULTATION
Source: IMF
China's Road To Reserve Currency Status: Ten Years Of The Flexible Renminbi
July 22, 2015--On Thursday,July 21, 2005, Australia opened the batting at Lord's Cricket Ground in London on the way to winning the first Ashes test against England.
Currency traders, however, had to tear themselves away from the action after China's out-of-the-blue announcement that it would replace its decade-old currency peg with a more flexible exchange rate regime.
The move loosened the renminbi’s strict Rmb8.276-8.28 range against the dollar and from the next day, it was allowed to fluctuate by up to 0.3 per cent against the greenback and by up to 1.5 per cent against other currencies.
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Source: emergingequity.org
BlackRock steps up China drive with new license to raise onshore funds
July 21, 2015--U.S. fund giant BlackRock Inc (BLK.N) has won a special new licence that will allow it to raise funds in China directly for the first time, a senior executive told Reuters, paving the way for the world's largest money manager to expand in the mainland.
Speaking in an interview in Bangkok this week, BlackRock vice chairman Philipp Hildebrand, said his company was granted a so-called Qualified Domestic Limited Partnership (QDLP) license "reasonably recently".
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Source: Reuters
China: Are we heading for the zero lower bound?
July 21, 2015--The raft of monetary policy measures adopted in China since late 2014 has had only a moderate impact on overall monetary conditions.
Conditions remain much tighter than a year ago thanks mostly to strong effective exchange rate appreciation. With underlying GDP growth still looking weak, more monetary policy moves are likely-and China may even face the prospect of short-term rates dropping towards the zero lower bound.
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Source:Oxford Economics
After Six Years Of Secrecy, China Has Released Questionable Gold Reserve Figures
July 17, 2015--After six years of mystery over how much gold China is actually hoarding, the nation surprised the bullion market on Friday by unveiling its first reserve figures since last published in April 2009, which showed a near 60 percent jump versus expectations that holdings had tripled since that time.
China has boosted bullion assets to 53.31 million troy ounces, or approximately 1,658 metric tons (valued at over $60 billion at today's prices), China’s Central Bank, the People's Bank of China said in a statement Friday.
That's up from 1,054 tons in 2009, an increase of 604 tons (valued at $21.964 billion at today’s prices), or an increase of 57 percent.
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Source: emergingequity.org
China banks lent $209bn for stock rescue
July 17, 2015--The huge scale of Chinese government intervention to staunch a stock market sell-off has been revealed by reports
showing the country's biggest state-owned banks have provided the equivalent of more than $200 billion to help prop up equities.
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Source: FT.com
IMF Working paper-Drivers of Financial Integration-Implications for Asia
July 17, 2015--Summary: Deeper intraregional financial integration is prominent on Asian policymakers' agenda. This paper takes stock of Asia’s progress toward that objective, analyzing recent trends in cross-border portfolio investment and bank claims.
Then, it investigates the drivers of financial integration by estimating a gravity model of bilateral financial asset holdings on a large sample of source and destination countries worldwide, focusing in particular on the role of regulation and institutions. The paper concludes that financial integration in Asia could be enhanced through policies that lower informational frictions, continue to buttress trade integration and capital market development, remove restrictions to foreign flows and bank penetration, and promote a common regulatory framework.
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Source: IMF
IMF Working paper-Should Korea Worry about a Permanently Weak Yen?
July 16, 2015--Summary: Three years have passed since the Bank of Japan’s asset purchase program was introduced in 2011, causing a sharp decline in the value of the Japanese Yen.
What would be the implications for Japan and Korea's exporters if the weak Yen is here to stay? We explore this question by examining exporters' pricing behaviors and volume responses to exchange rate shocks. We find that if the weak Yen persists, it would strengthen Japan's price competitiveness over time as export prices respond with a lag. We also find that while direct boosts to export demand will be rather limited, a persistently weaker Yen would expand the Japanese exporters' profits lastingly, which could reinvigorate the ability, particularly of flagship exporting firms, to compete and grow in the global market over time. These findings suggest that the muted price and volume response so far to the sustained weakness of the Yen may mask a more fundamental shift in the relative competitiveness of Japanese and Korean exporters.
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Source: IMF