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IMF-2012 Article IV Consultation with Japan
June 12, 2012--The Japanese economy has shown remarkable resilience and adaptability in the aftermath of the Great East Japan earthquake and is now experiencing a recovery. Risks, however, have shifted decidedly to the downside, with the turmoil in Europe intensifying and other advanced and key emerging market economies showing signs of slowing.
Moreover, to address the longstanding challenges of high public debt, low growth, and deflation, Japan needs to move forcefully on many fronts to take advantage of synergies among policies. The immediate priority is passage of the current tax and social security reform, which would bolster confidence and help create a more conducive environment for monetary easing. It would also help maintain financial sector stability, given increased fiscal and financial sector linkages. An exit from deflation and accelerated structural reforms would raise growth and support fiscal adjustment. This statement summarizes the findings of the Article IV consultation and the recent Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) Update.
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Source: IMF
DB-Equity Research-Asia-Pac-ETF Market Weekly Review: ETP AUM edged higher despite bearish equity markets
June 12, 2012--Market Review
Last week, all the markets in the Asia-Pacific region were in negative territory except for Japan and Korea. From north to south, Japan (Nikkei 225) climbed 0.23%, Korea (KOSPI2) gained 0.29%, China (CSI 300) slid by 4.13%, Hong Kong (HSI) decreased by 0.30%, Singapore (FSSTI) was down by 0.28%, and Australia (S&P/ASX 200) declined by 0.01% over the previous week.
New Launch Review
There was no new listing during last week in the Asia-Pacific region.
Turnover Review
Asia-Pacific ETP turnover totaled $5.3bn for last week, 16% down from the previous week’s total. South Korea continued to be on top of the turnover ranking, with $1.8bn, followed by China ($1.6bn), Japan ($0.8bn), Hong Kong ($0.8bn), and Taiwan ($0.1bn). Among Equity ETFs, Emerging Country, Leveraged Strategy, Asia Pac Developed Country, and Short Strategy ETFs had total turnover of $2.5bn, $0.9bn, $0.8bn, and $0.6bn respectively. Under the Commodity asset class, turnover in Gold ETPs totaled $171m for the last week.
Assets Under Management Review
Last week, Asia-Pacific ETP AUM increased by $0.4bn and ended at $107bn. On a year-to-date basis, Asia-Pacific ETP market is up by $16bn or 17% above last year’s closing.
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Source: Deutsche Bank - Equity Research - Asia Pacific
Markets cash in on ETFs as we sit idly by
June 11, 2012--International experts visiting Australia tend to scratch their heads when they find out our exchange traded fund industry still only has about $5.5 billion under management.
"The Australian industry is standing where the Canadian one was 10 years ago and that's now got $50bn under management," Howard Atkinson, chief executive of Canadian issuer Horizons Exchange Traded Funds, said.
He was addressing a conference at ASX Sydney on Thursday, sponsored by the industry and aimed at institutional managers and the superannuation industry.
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Source: The Australian
Chinese investors ride ETF helter-skelter
June 11, 2012--Huatai-PineBridge Fund Management, which broke records by raising $5.3bn for a Chinese exchange-traded fund last month, has seen its value fall $1.3bn since launch.
BlackRock Investment Institute’s ETP Landscape, which supplied the data, confirmed the value of the ETF was down from its launch value to $4bn and said heavy redemptions occurred during the week to June 6, when $848m was lost.
The Chinese ETF seeks to track the CSI 300 index exposed to stocks listed on the Shenzhen and Shanghai exchanges. Up to 10% of the fund is invested in bonds, options and financial tools.
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Source: Financial News
IMF Working paper-What's in It for Me? A Primer on Differences between Islamic and Conventional Finance in Malaysia
June 8, 2012--Summary: What attracts conventional investors to Islamic financial instruments? We answer this question by comparing Malaysian Islamic and conventional security prices and their response to macrofinancial factors.
Our analysis suggests that Islamic and conventional bond and equity prices are driven by common factors. Likewise, especially in recent years, Islamic banks have responded to economic and financial shocks in the same way as conventional banks, suggesting that the gap between Islamic and conventional financial practices is shrinking.
SSE 180 Sector Indices To Be Launched
June 8, 2012--To further enhance the SSE index family as well as to provide new analysis tools and underlying instruments for investors, SSE and CSI together announced that the SSE 180 Sector Indices would be launched on June 29, 2012
. Regarding the methodology and more details of the above indices, please refer to the official website of SSE ( www.sse.com.cn ) and the official website of CSI (www.csindex.com.cn) respectively.
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Source: Shanghai Stock Exchange
Japan Economy Grows More Than Initial Estimate
June 8, 2012--Japan's economy expanded more than the government initially estimated in the first quarter, adding to evidence that the world's third-largest economy will sustain its recovery this year.
Gross domestic product grew an annualized 4.7 percent in the three months ended March 31, the Cabinet Office said in Tokyo today, compared with a preliminary estimate for a 4.1 percent expansion. The median forecast of 18 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for 4.5 percent growth.
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Source: Bloomberg
Slowing China cuts key lending rate to boost growth
June 8, 2012--China has cut its key lending rate for the first time in four years and taken a small step toward letting market forces set bank deposit rates, as it tries to reverse an economic slump and put more money in consumers' pockets.
The rate cut Thursday came as Chinese leaders are reversing course and loosening lending and investment curbs they steadily tightened over the past two years to cool an overheated economy. The central bank also said China's commercial banks would be allowed to pay higher deposit rates than those dictated by the government, though it said rates will be capped for now at 1.1 times the official level. That could help to shift money to households from China's hugely profitable government-owned banks. The change is the latest step in reforms aimed at making China's financial system more efficient by easing controls that forced depositors to subsidize lending to government companies by holding down rates paid on savings.
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Source: Todays Zaman
China launches first dedicated fund association
June 7, 2012--The official line is that the CFA is an independent body that is supported by the CSRC.
Further, the CFA will boast nine part-time vice-chairmen. Their number includes Fan Yonghong, who recently quit as general manager of the country’s largest asset...
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Source: Asian Investor
Hong Kong boutique launches China Alt Ucits fund
June 7, 2012--June Hong Kong-based boutique Value Partners has launched a Ucits-compliant absolute return version of its flagship Greater China hedge fund.
The Value Partners Absolute Greater China Classic fund will be managed by the firm's co-CIOs Cheah Cheng-Hye and Louis So.
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Source: City Wire