Asia ETF News Older Than 1 year-If your looking for specific news, using the search function will narrow down the results
China Shadow Banking Shifted to Insurers Alarms Moody's
October 28, 2014--A doubling in the trust holdings of China's insurers has prompted ratings companies to warn the industry may be taking on too much shadow banking default-risk.
Insurers held 281 billion yuan ($46 billion) of trust products on June 30, surging from 144 billion yuan at the end of last year, China Insurance Regulatory Commission data show.
HK-Shanghai Link-up Delayed, Not Derailed
October 26, 2014--No firecrackers were lit at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange this morning to celebrate the much-anticipated launch of the Hong Kong-Shanghai Stock Connect.
After weeks of speculation and nail biting,the much ballyhooed linkup of the two key markets-which was widely expected to occur on "a Monday in October"-has been delayed indefinitely. Experts in mainland China are punting on an "optimistic scenario" of a launch by December,but officials at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange,or HKEx,aren’t commenting.
HKEx and brokerage stocks pummeled,but delay gives investors a bigger window of opportunity.
BNY Mellon Launches Comprehensive Discretionary Investment and Wealth Management Services in Hong Kong
BNY Mellon Wealth Management to leverage the company's Asia-Pacific presence to meet rapidly increasing wealth management demand from among the region's high net worth investors
Launch builds upon BNY Mellon's global investment and wealth management strategy
October 24, 2014--BNY Mellon* Wealth Management has received regulatory approval in Hong Kong to launch comprehensive discretionary investment and wealth management services to high net worth individual investors.
BNY Mellon Wealth Management will bring a wide range of solutions-based services including strategic asset allocation, access to world-class investment management services provided by the corporation's robust multi-boutique structure, and active, personalized client discretionary portfolio management.
SINGAPORE-IMF STAFF REPORT FOR THE 2014 ARTICLE IV CONSULTATION KEY ISSUES
October 17, 2014--Outlook and risks. Following an upturn in 2013, growth is expected to moderate somewhat during 2014-2015, narrowing the positive output gap. The impact of
recovering demand in advanced economies is likely to be offset by the ongoing real appreciation of the currency and the gradual tightening in global monetary conditions.
Transitional costs related to the economic restructuring (see next paragraph) are also
expected to dampen growth in the near term.
As a very open economy, Singapore is particularly exposed to external risks related to a protracted period of slower growth in
advanced and emerging economies, a continued buildup and eventual unwinding of
excess capacity in China, an abrupt surge in financial market volatility as investors
reassess underlying risks, and geopolitical risks.
Medium- and long-term challenges. The authorities focus squarely on the implementation of their medium-term economic restructuring plan. With the aim to boost the productivity of labor and land, the plan could set the stage for a new era of sustainable growth. However, productivity improvements may take some time to materialize. For example, the slowing inflow of foreign workers, a key part of the reform agenda, could moderate potential growth and lower competitiveness in light of the tight labor market. The social safety net is being strengthened in the context of a rapidly aging population.
IMF-Regional Economic Outlook Update: Asia and Pacific
IMF Survey Asia and Pacific: Still Going Strong, Says the IMF
October 10, 2014--Steady economic outlook for Asia and Pacific helped by supportive policies, accommodative financial conditions
Risks include abrupt tightening of global liquidity, stretched real estate markets, lower potential growth
Call for policymakers to push forward with structural reforms, rebuild macroeconomic policy space.
Asia's growth has been disappointing in the first half of 2014, but the economic outlook for the region remains solid.
GDP growth is expected to reach 5.5 percent in 2014, ticking up slightly to 5.6 percent in 2015, say IMF economists in the latest Asia and Pacific Regional Economic Outlook Update.
The region's economies should benefit from the ongoing global economic recovery, and still supportive financial conditions and policies.
The modest global recovery will provide a lift to Asia's exports, while relatively low interest rates, strong credit growth, and high asset prices will continue to support domestic demand, say the report's authors.
view the IMF-Regional Economic Outlook Update: Asia and Pacific
BlackRock replaces iShares Asia chief
October 10, 2014-- Susan Chan has taken up the role in addition to her position as head of iShares;Asia capital markets team.
Jane Leung, the previous incumbent, is relocating to the US for a new role with the firm.
WEF Collaboration Key to Economic Future of South Caucasus and Central Asia
September 10, 2014--Greater cross-border collaboration in terms of economic policy-making could bring significant benefits to economies in the South Caucasus and Central Asia region as they aim to build resilience and take advantage of growth opportunities in the changing global economy, according to the findings of a new report, Scenarios for the South Caucasus and Central Asia, launched today.
According to the report, trends such as the emergence of mega-regional trade agreements, the rise in South-South trade and increasing environmental awareness all pose critical questions to the region’s decision-makers. However, these same shifting dynamics also present the region with an opportunity to create a new identity and play an enhanced role in the global economy.
view the WEF-Scenarios for the South Caucasus and Central Asia report
World Bank Expects Slower Growth in Developing East Asia Pacific in 2014
Forecast Shows Region to Grow Nearly 7% This Year and Next
October 6, 2014-Developing countries in East Asia Pacific will see slightly slower economic growth this year, but the pace of growth in the region, excluding China, will pick up next year, as the gradual recovery in high-income economies boosts demand for exports from the region, according to the East Asia Pacific Economic Update released today by the World Bank. Still, developing East Asia Pacific remains the fastest-growing region in the world.
Developing East Asia will grow by 6.9% this year and next, down from 7.2% in 2013, the report says. In China, growth will ease slightly to 7.4% this year and 7.2% in 2015, as the government seeks to put the economy on a more sustainable path with policies addressing financial vulnerabilities and structural constraints. Excluding China, growth in developing countries in the region is expected to bottom out at 4.8% this year, before rising to 5.3% in 2015, as exports rise and domestic economic reforms advance in the large Southeast Asian economies.
Led by India, South Asia Economic Growth to Accelerate, World Bank
October 6. 2014--Economic growth in South Asia is forecast to accelerate to 2016 led by an increase in activity in India, the biggest economy in a region that has the world's largest concentration of poor people, a World Bank report said.
In the twice-a-year South Asia Economic Focus, the World Bank said the region's economy will expand by a real 6 percent in 2015 and by 6.4 percent in 2016 compared to 5.4 percent this year, potentially making it the second fastest growing region in the world after East Asia and the Pacific. The Indian economy, 80 percent of the region’s output, is set to grow by 6.4 percent in fiscal year (FY) 2015/16 after 5.6 percent in FY2014/15. Other countries in the region are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
view the World Bank report-South Asia Economic Update: The Export Opportunity
China's long term gold plans
China is far more adept than the capitalist West in looking to the long term and nowhere is this more apparent in its attitude towards gold.
September 19, 2014--The launch of Shanghai Gold Exchange trading yuan denominated contracts in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone Thursday, which has enabled foreign investors to invest in China's physical gold bullion market, is yet another one of China's overt moves to dominate the global gold sector long term.
It may make a slow start but aims to become the world’s biggest physical gold exchange and is thus is in itself a move towards reducing the influence of COMEX and the LBMA on global gold trade and pricing and move the centre of gravity for this eastwards. Similar moves to set up new international gold contracts in Singapore and Hong Kong will further accelerate the move in gold trade to east Asia.
