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Asia in 2012: Resilient, but at Risk from Euro Downturn
February 5, 2012--Further downturn in Europe would have significant spillovers for Asia
Asia has capacity to respond to a new downturn
Tokyo venue for 2012 IMF-World Bank meetings reflects close ties with region
Events unfolding far from Asia’s shores could shape the region’s economic outlook for 2012. But if the global economic situation deteriorates—most notably in the troubled economies of the euro zone—Asia’s policymakers still have the room to respond aggressively, say IMF economists.
Despite the prevailing global uncertainty, Asia has until now, proven to be very resilient. It has boasted strong domestic demand, low unemployment, and factories working at near-full capacity. While credit growth has slowed from the torrid pace of early 2011, it remains robust in most economies.
Japan is mounting a recovery from the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, and in Thailand reconstruction is under way following the country’s devastating floods.
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Source: IMF
Consumer Affairs Ministry not for transaction tax on commodity derivatives
February 5, 2012--The Consumer Affairs Ministry is not in favour of levy of any transaction tax on commodity derivatives. This was conveyed to the Union Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, by the Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Prof K.V.Thomas, at a recent pre-budget meeting between the two Ministers, sources said.
Any levy of transaction tax on commodity derivatives could impact the development of the commodity derivatives market, it was submitted to the Finance Minister. This is even as pressure is mounting on the Finance Ministry to provide a level-playing field between equity derivatives and commodity derivatives in the upcoming Budget on the aspect of levy of transaction tax.
Currently, currency and commodity derivatives do not attract any transaction tax, while equity futures are subjected to securities transaction tax (STT). The recent fall in volumes in cash as well as equity futures has prompted the equity exchanges to lobby hard for removal of STT or reduction of this tax in the upcoming budget. Alternatively, some of the equity exchanges want the Finance Ministry to impose transaction tax on non-agri commodities, as they contend that volumes are shifting from equity derivatives to non-agri commodity derivatives.
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Source: Business Standard
Hong Kong-based asset manager EIP launches seven ETF products
February 2, 2012-- Enhanced Investment Products Limited (EIP), a Hong Kong based asset management firm, today confirms the launch of seven new ETF products, authorised* by the Securities and Futures Commission at the beginning of January 2012.
Under the brand name XIE Shares, these ETFs will be an extension of EIP’s cost-effective index product offerings, launching on Thursday, 16 February 2012 and Tuesday, 21 February 2012.
These seven country-specific products intend to provide investment results that, before fees and expenses, closely correspond to the performance of seven local Emerging Asian stock exchange indices, providing investors with easy and immediate access to markets in India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand.
Set to be the first Hong Kong domiciled swap-based synthetic ETF platform managed by a local manager, EIP has been working closely with each country’s Stock Exchanges and relevant Index Providers. XIE Shares will offer simplicity and ease in trading for both institutional and retail investors and is expected to provide liquid and low cost passive investment to the Emerging Asian markets. Full product details will be announced during a press conference on Wednesday, 15 February 2012, with XIE Shares Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Thursday, 16 February 2012 and XIE Shares India, Indonesia and Philippines listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Tuesday, 21 February 2012.
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Source: Opalesque
Statement by Atsushi Saito with regard to today's system failure
February 2, 2012--We sincerely appreciate your support.
We deeply apologize to our market users, particularly investors for any inconvenience which may have been caused due to the failure of our information distribution system on February 2nd, 2012.
This failure was caused by a hardware failure. By replacing the failed hardware, we have already secured a situation where no further problems in stock trading will occur. From tomorrow stock trading will be conducted as usual.
We will identify the cause as soon as possible and prepare the necessary preventive measures. We will also make utmost efforts to not cause inconvenience to market users in the future. Therefore, we sincerely look forward to your continued support of our market operations.
Source: Tokyo Stock Exchange Group
Asia Holding Firm Despite Slowing Global Demand
February 1, 2012--Lower external demand results in slower growth for Asia
Asia remains vulnerable to financial contagion from Europe
Most economies have room for strong policy response in event of further slowdown
Lower demand for exports from Asia is acting as a drag on growth in the region, but Asian economies continue to hold relatively firm buoyed by continuing strong domestic demand, say IMF experts.
“Exports [in Asia] lost momentum in the face of weaker growth from regional and global trading partners, but robust domestic demand has, so far, helped offset the drag on growth,“ said Anoop Singh, head of the Asia and Pacific region for the IMF, during a press briefing on the economic outlook for Asia.
Asia is heavily dependent on trade for its growth and, although up till now, the region has managed to fend off the worst effects of the euro debt crisis, Singh warned that a further deterioration in global financial conditions could have significant, negative knock-on effects.
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Source: IMF
Simmons & Simmons Advises on World's First RMB-Denominated Gold ETF
February 1, 2011--Simmons & Simmons has advised Hang Seng Investment Management on the launch of the world's first renminbi-denominated physical gold ETF, benchmarking the LBMA gold price, listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The Hang Seng RMB Gold ETF will begin trading on 14 February 2012. It will track the performance of the London gold fixing price in US dollars, but it seeks to hedge against the renminbi exchange rate to the US dollar.
The Simmons & Simmons team was led by partner and Head of the Funds Group in Hong Kong, Rolfe Hayden and Managing Associate, Eva Chan.
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Source: Simmons & Simmons
BSE IPF and Morningstar India launch ‘India Fund Observer 2011’
February 1, 2012--Highlights for the fund industry in 2011:
Falling equity markets and regulatory developments weighed heavy on the domestic fund industry, therefore denting its assets in 2011. On a year-end basis, the assets of the industry shrunk for the second year in a row--by 2.4% in 2011, as against a fall of 6% in 2010.
Net inflow into equity funds bounced back to Rs. 6,848 crores in 2011, after a disappointing outflow of about Rs. 16,000 crores in 2010. Investors poured in money during market dips, during the year. However, collections from equity new fund offers (NFOs) continued to plunge, and so did the number of new launches. There were only 10 new equity open-end funds launched this year, which managed to mobilize only Rs. 612 crores. This is down from the hey-days of 2007, when there were about 48 new equity fund launches, which managed to mobilize in excess of Rs. 29,000 crores.
Fixed Maturity Plans (FMPs) were the saviour for the fund industry in 2011 with record collections of Rs. 118,000 crores and about 700 of these funds being launched during the year. Rising interest rates were conducive to these funds mobilizing such huge sums during the year. In 2010 too, when interest rates were hardening, there were 288 FMP launches which together mobilized around Rs 72,561 crores.
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Source: Morningstar
TSE Resumes Trading After System Glitch Causes Halt
February 1, 2012--TSE temporarily suspends trading in shares of more than 200 companies, including Sony, Hitachi
Exchange still investigating cause, but glitch likely stems from server trouble for stock data distribution
Exchange resumes trading of all suspended issues from afternoon session
Financial Services Agency urges TSE to take steps to prevent system trouble from occurring again
The Tokyo Stock Exchange halted trading of 241 issues Thursday morning, including blue-chip stocks such as Sony Corp. (6758.TO) and Hitachi Ltd. (6501.TO), due to the failure ...
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Source: Wall Street Journal
China regulator: Hong Kong-linked ETFs ready to go
February 1, 2012--China has completed preparatory work for launching exchange traded funds linked to Hong Kong-listed shares, Guo Shuqing, chairman of the country's securities regulator, said in an editorial published in the state-run China Securities Journal on Thursday.
Guo, who didn't offer a timetable for the launch of ETFs linked to Hong Kong-listed shares, reiterated that China will push ahead with establishing a global commodity futures market domestically.
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Source: MarketWatch
OSE has been Publishing "Indicative Net Asset Values" and "Portfolio Composition Files" of ETFs
February 1, 2012--OSE has been publishing Indicative Net Asset Values (Indicative NAVs(*1)) and Portfolio Composition File (PCFs(*2)) of ETFs in order to improve ETF investors' convenience since August 15, 2011.
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Source: Osaka Securities Exchange
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