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Hong Kong acts to ease renminbi capital flows
December 23, 2010-- Hong Kong’s de facto central bank has announced measures designed to ease capital flows of the renminbi for companies seeking to conduct trade in the Chinese currency.
The changes, unveiled on Thursday, came as part of the island’s move to enhance its role as an offshore centre for renminbi trade settlement.
ASIC releases access to financial advice report
ASIC today released a findings report on Access to financial advice in Australia
December 23, 2010--Improving access to advice helps consumers get the advice they need when they need it. It may consist of personal advice, general advice or access to factual information. It also enables industry to innovate so it can provide high quality advice services as efficiently as possible to consumers.
Between 2009 and 2010, ASIC conducted research into the demand and supply of financial advice in Australia. The report summarises the findings, identifies current gaps in the advice market and highlights some of the actions ASIC and the industry have undertaken to improve access to advice.
The report identifies a number of issues that adversely impact access to advice:
Cost of advice: A significant gap exists between what consumers are prepared to pay for financial advice and how much it costs industry to provide advice.
Scale of advice provided: Many Australians, particularly those who have never previously accessed financial advice, want piece-by-piece simple advice rather than holistic advice. Many advice providers still provide holistic advice as the default option.
Consumer perceptions that advice is out of their reach: Evidence suggests some people do not seek financial advice because they feel their financial circumstances do not warrant advice.
Consumer mistrust of financial planners: A lack of trust in financial planners to provide unbiased, professional advice limits the number of consumers who seek advice and the value they place on financial advice.
Access to general advice and information: The provision of general advice or factual information is less extensive than it could and should be. For many consumers general advice and factual information may be sufficient to meet their current advice needs.
Financial literacy: Gaps in financial literacy, especially among certain demographics and in relation to certain financial topics, limits some consumers’ engagement with financial matters and so stops them from seeking advice.
These issues present significant challenges to industry, ASIC, Government and consumer groups. The need for improved access to financial advice has been recognised by the Australian Government, ASIC, industry and consumer groups alike. Through its Future of Financial Advice reforms, the Government is currently actively exploring ways to improve access to financial advice.
Access to financial advice in Australia
Thai bourse allows short-selling on SET100 Index stocks from Jan 1
Decembe 22, 2010--The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) will allow securities in the SET100 Index to be sold short, effective from January 1, 2011, onwards. This should provide
investors with a better tool to manage their risks from stock price movement.
Previously, short-selling could be done only with the securities in the SET50
Index.
Short-selling has become a widely-used, effective tool for managing risks in
portfolio investment, SET Chief Marketing Officer Pakorn Peetathawatchai noted.
Enlarging the scope of securities in the SET100 Index to be available for
short-selling should thus provide investors more investment alternatives and risk management tools. Securities in the SET50 Index, exchange-traded fund (ETF) units, and ETF-linked funds will remain available for short-selling as ever.
DB Global Equity Index & ETF Research: Asia Pacific ETP Market Weekly Review
December 21, 2010--Market Overview
There are 252 equity-based ETFs in the Asia Pacific region with 348 listings across 12 countries and 15 exchanges. Japan has the largest market share by AUM accounting for 39.29% of the whole market, whilst China has the largest market share by turnover with 36.14%.
There were two new listings last week. BetaShares Capital Ltd launched two ETFs on the Australian Securities Exchange tracking the S&P/ASX 200 Financials x-A-REIT Index and S&P/ASX 200 Resources Index, respectively. These two new funds are the first synthetic ETFs in Australia. (See page 2 for further details).
Turnover
Monthly average daily turnover declined 18.3% in the last week. Turnover for the previous week was USD 1,129m. The largest ETF by turnover was the iShares Asia Trust - iShares FTSE/Xinhua A50 China Tracker issued by BlackRock with USD 200m accounting for 17.8% of total turnover.
Assets Under Management
AUM remained at about the same level in the previous week. AUM as of December 17th was USD 75.1 bn. The largest ETF by AUM is the TOPIX ETF managed by Nomura Asset Management with AUM of USD 7.8bn.
To request a copy of the report
Bank of Japan holds rate steady, continues easing measures
December 21, 2010-- Japan's central bank on Tuesday kept its key rate unchanged and said it would assess the impact of earlier measures to boost the faltering economy amid fears of a looming slowdown.
The bank's board made the unanimous decision to keep the key rate at between zero and 0.1% after a two-day meeting, warning that a fragile recovery from deep recession was "pausing".
NASDAQ OMX Appoints Nelson Griggs as Senior Vice President and Head of Asia Pacific for the Global Corporate Client Group
December 21, 2010--The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) appointed Nelson Griggs as Senior Vice President and Head of Asia Pacific for the Global Corporate Client Group. Mr. Griggs will head Asia Pacific listing efforts for NASDAQ OMX effective immediately. He will be based in Hong Kong and he will report to Bruce Aust, Executive Vice President of Global Corporate Client Group.
"Nelson's high-energy, focus and ability to attract and ultimately win clients make him an ideal candidate to head up this important region for NASDAQ OMX where we are especially focused on the growing IPO market in China," said Bruce Aust, Executive President of NASDAQ OMX.
Nelson has been with NASDAQ OMX for over 10 years. Throughout his tenure he has played a crucial role in managing efforts to deliver the benefits of the exchange's superior market structure and value-added services to prospective listed companies. Most recently, he was Vice President of New Listings in the Global Corporate Client Group where he led the team responsible for many of the high-profile company switches to NASDAQ from the NYSE, representing over $330 billion in market capitalization. Mr. Griggs also led the team in Canada supporting existing companies, new listings and product sales. Previously, he was a Managing Director in NASDAQ's Global Corporate Client Group and he worked for Fidelity Investments. Nelson graduated from Denison University in Granville, Ohio.
FSA publishes English translation of Annual Supervisory Policies for Regional Financial Institutions for Program Year 2010
December 20, 2010--The FSA published today an English translation of Annual Supervisory Policies for Regional Financial Institutions for Program Year 2010.
view the Composition of Supervisory Policies (Regional Financial Institutions)
view the Annual Supervisory Policies for Regional Financial Institutions for Program Year 2010
FSA publishes English translation of Annual Supervisory Policies for Major Banks for Program Year 2010
December 20, 2010--FSA publishes English translation of Annual Supervisory Policies for Major Banks for Program Year 2010
view Composition of Supervisory Policies (Major Banks)
view the Annual Supervisory Policies for Major Banks for Program Year 2010
HKEx Publishes Market Statistics in Response to Media Requests
December 20, 2010--In response to requests from some news organisations which are preparing their year-end reviews, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) published today (Monday) a set of market statistics for 2010 (up to 15 December) on its website.
view HKEx Market Statistics 2010
BetaShares appoints RBC Dexia to service Australian-based Exchange Traded Funds
December 20, 2010--RBC Dexia Investor Services today announced that it has been appointed by BetaShares Capital Limited (BetaShares) to provide custody and fund administration for their initial range of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) to be listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. The funds will
be serviced out of Sydney, Australia.
From the development stage to the launch of our initial products, RBC Dexia’s consultative approach and flexibility in their operating model were a complement to our team here at BetaSharesand the main driver to their selection to service our exchange traded funds,” said Alex Vynokur,
Managing Director of BetaShares “We look forward to growing our relationship with RBC Dexia as we
continue to develop and introduce new products to the Australian ETF marketplace.”
Similar to other global markets, the appetite for Australian ETFs has grown substantially in the past year.
