Hong Kong ETF Offers Big-Cap Blue Chips, No Leaders
March 9, 2012--Hong Kong stands today as professional money managers' preferred entry to business in China. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange demands higher standards for financial reporting compared with mainland China's bourses. And access to Hong Kong listings is far easier than for Shanghai or Shenzhen.
Year to date, iShares MSCI Hong Kong (EWH) exchange traded fund holds on to a 16% gain.
That puts it in sixth place among the 18 markets tracked on IBD's Daily World Map. The Nasdaq shows a 15% rise while the S&P 500 has climbed 9%.
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Source: Investors. com
China to offer renminbi loans to Brics
March 8. 2012--China is planning to extend renminbi loans to other major emerging Bric countries in another step toward the expansion of the yuan's role in foreign exchange, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Wednesday.
The China Development Bank (CDB) will sign a memorandum of understanding at a meeting with its Brics counterparts - Russia, South Africa, Brazil and India - in New Delhi on March 29, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the talks.
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Source: FIN24
Hong Kong ETF market to post strong growth, PwC says
March 8, 2012--Hong Kong's exchange traded fund (ETF) market is predicted to experience strong growth over the next few years. Already the second largest ETF market in Asia after Japan in terms of turnover and market capitalization, Hong Kong ETFs have seen their assets under management jump almost seven-fold to USD25 billion (as of October 2011) in the past 10 years.
“Compared to the ETF market in the US and Europe, the market in Asia is still relatively small and at an early stage of development. There’s still a lot of untapped potential for fund managers and also service providers to take advantage of, especially in Hong Kong,” commented Maria Tsui, PwC Hong Kong asset management assurance partner.
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Source: The Asset
SGX welcomes new CIMB-Principal ETF listing
March 8, 2012--Singapore Exchange (SGX) announced today the listing of CIMB S&P Ethical Asia Pacific Dividend ETF by CIMB-Principal Asset Management (CIMB-Principal). This brings the total number of ETFs on SGX to 93.
The ETF tracks the S&P Ethical Pan Asia Select Dividend Opportunities Index which covers ethically conscious, high dividend yielding stocks from the Pan Asia region. The stocks in the index must have less than 5% revenue exposure to alcohol, gaming and tobacco. The top 40 highest yielding stocks in the Pan Asia region that meet these criteria are represented in the index.
Adopting a full replication strategy, the ETF will provide investors with an efficient and transparent means of accessing Asian high yield stocks, meeting investors’ appetite for yield and stability in growth markets.
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Source: Singapore Exchange (SGX)
Japanese economy shrank by 0.7 pct in 4Q
March 8, 2012--Japan's economy shrank less than first estimated in the final quarter of last year amid an increase in business investment as reconstruction from the March 2011 disasters picked up.
The Cabinet Office said Thursday that the economy shrank an annualized 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter compared with its initial estimate of a 2.3 percent contraction. Domestic spending was stronger than first estimated, in
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Source: Todays Zaman
TOCOM Statement on a Recent News Report on TOCOM and CME
March 7, 2012--With regard to the news article reporting this morning that TOCOM has decided on a policy to ask Chicago Mercantile Exchange
for capital/ business tie-up arrangement, the Exchange affirms that there is no such decision has been made.
Source: TOCOM
SECP approves regulations for exchange traded funds for KSE
March 6, 2012--As part of its mandate to develop the capital market in Pakistan, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has approved regulations governing exchange traded funds (ETFs) for the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE).
The trading in ETFs at the stock exchanges will provide investors with alternative investment avenues while allowing diversified portfolio of securities that track a benchmark index and improve liquidity in the market. Internationally, ETFs are among the fastest growing investment products which due to a growing demand are being customised to cover specific arrays of regions, sectors, stocks, commodities, bonds, futures and other asset classes. The approved regulations will enable the stock exchange to list and regulate trading in ETFs, which at their core are portfolios of securities that are traded like individual stocks on an exchange.
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Source: Daily Times Pakistan
IMF Working paper-Does the Business Environment Affect Corporate Investment in India?
March 6, 2012--Summary: Since the global financial crisis, corporate investment has been weak in India. Sluggish corporate investment would not only moderate growth from the demand side but also constrain growth from the supply side over time.
Against this background, this paper analyzes the reasons for the slowdown and discusses how India can boost corporate investment, using both macro and firm-level micro data. Analysis of macro data indicates that macroeconomic factors can largely explain corporate investment but that they do not appear to account fully for recent weak performance, suggesting a key role of the business environment in reviving corporate investment. Analysis of micro panel data suggests that improving the business environment by reducing costs of doing business, improving financial access, and developing infrastructure, could stimulate corporate investment.
view the IMF Working paper-Does the Business Environment Affect Corporate Investment in India?
Source: IMF
DB-Equity Research-Asia-Pac ETF Market Weekly Review:ETP assets near all-time highs in spite of $1.1bn outflows during February
March 6, 2012--Market Review
Asian markets remained in positive territory last week. From north to south, Japan (Nikkei 225) surged by 1.34%, Korea (KOSPI2) increased by 0.85%, China (CSI 300) gained 1.21%, Hong Kong (HSI) advanced by 0.73% and Singapore (FSSTI) rose by 0.52%, while Australia (S&P/ASX 200) fell by 0.78% over the previous week.
New ETP launches
Last week, Kiwoom Asset Management made its debut with one Equity ETF listed on Korea Stock Exchange offering exposure to Kospi 100 Index. (See Figure 5 for further details.)
ETP Monthly Flows
Asia-Pacific ETP market recorded monthly cash outflows of $1.1bn for the month of February for the first time since November 2010. From a market perspective, ETPs in Taiwan led the outflows with $626m, followed by Japan with $581m, while India witnessed $115mn of inflows. Total monthly outflows were primarily contributed by Equity ETFs with $1.3bn of outflows, partially offset by $117m of inflows in Fixed Income ETFs with Sovereign exposure. Within Equity products, Asia Pac Developed Country, Emerging Country and Sector ETFs recorded $789m, $433m and $138m of outflows.
Turnover Review
Asia-Pacific ETP turnover totaled $5.7bn for last week, 2.6% down from the previous week’s total. China climbed to the top of the turnover ranking with $1.6bn, followed by South Korea ($1.5bn), Hong Kong ($1.2bn), Japan ($1bn), and Singapore ($0.2bn). Among Equity ETFs, Emerging Country, Asia Pac Developed Country, Leveraged Strategy, and Short Strategy ETFs had total turnover of $2.7bn, $1.3bn, $0.7bn and $0.4bn respectively. Under the Commodity asset class, turnover in Gold ETPs totaled $262m.
Asset Under Management Review
Last week, Asia-Pacific ETP AUM ended at $102.1bn. On a year to date basis, Asia-Pacific ETP market is up by $10.6bn or 11.6% above last year's closing.
to request report
Source: Deutsche Bank - Equity Research - Asia Pacific
China cuts growth target to 8-year low
March 5, 2012--Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao cut his nation's 2012 growth target to an eight-year low of 7.5% and made boosting consumer demand the year's first priority, as Beijing looks to wean the economy off its reliance on external demand and foreign capital.
He lowered the target from a longstanding annual goal of 8%, a move investors anticipated so that Beijing has some economic leeway to rebalance the economy and defuse price pressures in the runup to a leadership change later this year.
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Source: FIN24
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