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Shenzhen Stock Exchange and Osaka Securities Exchange Sign Memorandum of Understanding
August 31, 2010--Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) and Osaka Securities Exchange Co., Ltd. (OSE) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in Shenzhen on Tuesday, August 31, 2010. President Song Liping and Mr. Manabu Matsumoto, member of the Board and Deputy President of OSE, inked the MOU, which covers mutual visits, professional training and information sharing.
President Song Liping said that both exchanges, committed to serving growth companies, have established or developed new markets to serve particular financing needs in respective countries. The two exchanges are mutually complementary with great potential for cooperative endeavors of common interest. With increasingly close economic ties between China and Japan in capital markets, the cooperation between SZSE and OSE will be more focused and reach greater depths.
“OSE also dedicates itself to meeting the financing needs of growth companies. In 2009 OSE merged with JASDAQ. On the basis of consolidation of JASDAQ and Hercules, OSE will launch new JASDAQ market in October this year. We believe the signing of the MOU with SZSE will be a significant step towards internationalization of the new JASDAQ market,” said Deputy President Manabu Matsumoto.
OSE was created in 1987 and became demutualized in 2001. Now OSE is the largest derivatives market in Japan. OSE is home to 1800 companies with a total market capitalization of 211 billion yen (17 billion RMB yuan).
So far SZSE has signed MOUs with 25 fellow exchanges outside China’s mainland.
DB Global Equity Index & ETF Research-- Asia-Pacific ETP Market Weekly Review
August 30, 2010--Market Overview
There are 230 equity based ETFs in the Asia Pacific region with 323 listings across 12 countries and 15 exchanges. Japan has the largest market share by AUM accounting for 39.38% of the whole market, whilst China has the largest market share by turnover with 39.93%.
There was no new listing in the last week.
Turnover
Monthly average daily turnover remained at about the same level in the last week. Turnover for the previous week was USD 856m. The largest ETF by turnover was the iShares Asia Trust - iShares FTSE/Xinhua A50 China Tracker issued by BlackRock with USD 159m accounting for 18.6% of total turnover.
Assets Under Management
AUM remained at about the same level in the previous week. AUM as of August 27th were USD 62.8bn. The largest ETF by AUM is the iShares Asia Trust - iShares FTSE/Xinhua A50 China Tracker managed by BlackRock with AUM of USD 6.7bn.
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Gold ETF Assets May Soar 17 Times in India as Refuge Demand Drives Price
August 30, 2010--Gold held by exchange-traded funds in India, the world’s biggest buyer of bullion, may surge as much as 17 times in the next three years as investors seek a refuge from financial turmoil and inflation.
Assets may reach “100 tons to 200 metric tons” from 12 tons now, said Rajan Mehta, executive director of Benchmark Asset Management Co., which runs the nation’s first and biggest gold exchange-traded fund. “The growth will definitely be faster than what we have seen in the past.”
Investors globally bought 291.3 tons of gold in ETFs in the second quarter, the second-highest amount on record, as prices climbed to an all-time high of $1,265.30 an ounce during the sovereign-debt crisis in Europe, the producer-funded World Gold Council said on Aug. 25.
Kan vows ‘decisive’ action on yen
August 27, 2010--Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan on Friday said he was ready to take “decisive” action on the yen, and urged the Bank of Japan to implement “expeditious” monetary policy measures.
The prime minister said he would meet Masaaki Shirakawa, the central bank governor, possibly as early as Monday before the release of a stimulus plan on Tuesday.
His remarks suggested that the central bank could soon introduce additional easing measures to tackle the waning economy.
Gold ETFs mushroom in India
August 27, 2010--Gold exchange-traded funds (ETF) may be new for India, but are gaining in popularity as investors become aware of the benefits of investing in gold in a non-material form as opposed to holding it as jewellery.
ETFs are instruments that trade like shares and are backed by physical holdings of the commodity. India is the world's top consumer of gold, accounting for 20% of global demand. Indians traditionally invest in gold jewellery.
Some key facts and figures on India's gold ETFs:
India has eight gold ETFs listed with a total collection of more than 11 tonne, nearly double compared to last year.
Mumbai-based Benchmark Mutual Fund was the first to start a gold ETF in 2007 and has the largest collection of more than five tonnes.
Hong Kong Members Gain Direct Access To NYSE Liffe
August 26, 2010--NYSE Liffe, the Europe-based derivatives business of NYSE Euronext (NYX), has received regulatory approval from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission to provide Automated Trading Services (ATS) in Hong Kong with immediate effect giving customers in Hong Kong direct and therefore faster access than ever before to trading on the London market of NYSE Liffe via its electronic platform, LIFFE CONNECT®.
Until now, customers in Hong Kong have had to connect to NYSE Liffe via order routing or other indirect means. This step enables customers in Hong Kong to benefit from much lower latency and to access directly NYSE Liffe’s Short Term Interest Rate, Bond, Swapnote and Equity and Equity Index products.
Garry Jones, Group Executive Vice President and Head of Global Derivatives, NYSE Euronext, said: “We are delighted to be able to offer our growing customer base in Hong Kong direct and quicker access to our products. Asia is an increasingly important market for us and we are committed to developing our business in the region.”
NYSE Liffe extended the trading hours for its benchmark Euribor interest rate futures contract in order to incorporate the Asian trading day three years ago in 2007 (with trading beginning at 01:00 hours London time) and in 2008/2009 expanded its Singapore and Tokyo offices to develop NYSE Liffe’s business. The company has doubled its staff in Asia in the last year and will continue to expand in 2010/2011. NYSE Liffe also offers direct access to customers in Japan and Singapore (and access via order routing to customers in Thailand, Korea and Australia).
In addition, NYSE Euronext continues to develop partnerships with Asian exchanges in many countries including China, India, Japan and the ASEAN region.
Banks back switch to renminbi for trade
August 26, 2010--A number of the world’s biggest banks have launched international roadshows promoting the use of the renminbi to corporate customers instead of the dollar for trade deals with China.
HSBC, which recently moved its chief executive from London to Hong Kong, and Standard Chartered, are offering discounted transaction fees and other financial incentives to companies that choose to settle trade in the Chinese currency.
We’re now capable of doing renminbi settlement in many parts of the world,” said Chris Lewis, HSBC’s head of trade for greater China. “All the other major international banks are frantically trying to do the same thing.”
KBW Announces Changes to KBW Bank Index (BKX) and KBW Mortgage Finance Index (MFX)
August 25, 2010--Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., a full-service investment bank that specializes in the financial services sector, and a wholly owned subsidiary of KBW, Inc., announces upcoming changes to the KBW Bank Index and KBW Mortgage Finance Index.
Effective prior to the opening of business on Monday, August 30, 2010, Citigroup Inc., will undergo an increase in shares to account for the shares sold by the U.S. Treasury. In addition, NewAlliance Bancshares, Inc., will be deleted from the MFX due to its announced merger with First Niagara Financial Group, Inc. NAL will be replaced by Radian Group Inc.
The KBW indices that have tradable exchange-traded funds are: KBW Bank Index (Index Symbol: BKX(SM), ETF Symbol KBE(SM)); KBW Capital Markets Index (Index Symbol: KSX(SM), ETF Symbol KCE(SM)); KBW Insurance Index (Index Symbol: KIX(SM), ETF Symbol KIE(SM)); KBW Mortgage Finance Index (Index Symbol: MFX(SM), ETF Symbol: KME(SM)); and KBW Regional Banking Index (Index Symbol: KRX(SM), ETF Symbol: KRE(SM), KRS(SM), KRU(SM)).
India warns about balance of payments
August 24, 2010--The Reserve Bank of India warned on Tuesday that volatile capital flows threatened to increase pressure on the country’s balance of payments, which is recording the widest current account deficit among large emerging economies
Analysts identify the current account deficit – which will put downward pressure on the Indian rupee – alongside double-digit inflation as the biggest challenges for the Indian economy.
India’s current account deficit has widened in the past year as fast-paced economic growth drives greater demand for imported goods, and is forecast to grow larger in the year ahead.
Tokyo under pressure to tackle rising yen
August 24, 2010--The Japanese government is under intense pressure to tackle the economy after the yen surged to a 15-year high against the US dollar and the stock market fell below 9,000, sparking fears of a double-dip recession.
Naoto Kan, the Japanese prime minister, said on Tuesday that steep currency moves were “undesirable” but failed to calm markets amid perceptions that he was more focused on a potential leadership challenge next month than the waning economic recovery. Concerns about Japan returning to recession as other Asian economies steam ahead have grown since it posted anaemic growth for the second quarter, allowing the Chinese economy to eclipse Japan’s.
