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Greenback suffers as buyers back yen
July 1, 2010--The yen surged to its highest level against the dollar so far this year as worries about the health of the global economy boosted haven demand for the Japanese currency.
Weaker-than-expected Chinese activity data yesterday combined with more weakness in global equities to heighten risk aversion and support the yen.
Meanwhile, the dollar’s haven appeal was undercut as US manufacturing activity and home sales data came in weaker than expected, raising concerns about a double-dip recession in the world’s largest economy.
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Source: FT.com
China plans route back for offshore funds
July 1, 2010--China plans to allow investors to channel renminbi deposits held offshore back into capital markets on the mainland, opening a new route for investors through the country’s strict capital controls.
The scheme, which is part of Beijing’s drive to encourage greater use of the renminbi in international transactions, could be launched on a trial basis this year or in early 2011.
As the Chinese currency takes on a bigger role in global trade, offshore renminbi deposits are expected to accumulate quickly. There are about Rmb80bn of renminbi deposits in Hong Kong, but few opportunities to invest these deposits outside a handful of renminbi-denominated bonds.
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Source: FT.com
Gold extends gains as ETF holdings hit record
June 30, 2010--Gold gained on Wednesday, June 30 after holdings in the world's largest bullion-backed ETF hit another record as investors sought safety from tumbling stock markets.
Spot gold rose US$4.55 to US$1,242.55 (RM4,063.14) an ounce by 0101 GMT after volatile trade on Tuesday, when it dropped toward US$1,220 before bouncing to around US$1,241. Gold struck a record above US$1,264 an ounce last week.
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Source: The Edge
KRX to Adopt Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) system
June 29, 2010--To make easy the comparison between the Korea Standard Industrial Classification (KSIC) and Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS), the Korea Exchange (KRX) plans to make available the GICS industry code of listed company along with the existing KSIC industry code from July 1, 2010. The details to be published on the KRX Webpage include the name and code of the GICS sector and industry group and the market data such as the price and trading volume of the listed company.
According to the existing KSIC, over 50 % of listed companies are classified as manufacturing industry. However, when the GICS is adopted, there would be no distinction between the manufacturing and non-manufacturing industries and the relative importance would be given to utilization aspect. Hence, the five sectors – the materials, industrials, consumer discretionary, financials, and information technology – would account for about 84% of total market capitalization and 87% of total number of the listed companies.
It is expected that the adoption of GICS would enhance the market infrastructure and help the investors to better understand the characteristics and change of industry structure. Additionally, the financial sector would be able to more efficiently manage their portfolios, including the analysis of investments and asset allocation, and then the ground necessary for the development of various financial investment products based on GICS would be established.
Source:Korea Exchange (KRX)
Exposures of Japanese deposit-taking institutions to subprime-related products and securitized products based on the leading practices summarized in the FSF report
June 25, 2010--The FSA published today the exposures of Japanese deposit-taking institutions (excluding Japan Agricultural Cooperatives) to subprime-related products and securitized products based on the leading practices summarized in the FSF report. Those figures are at the end-March 2010.
view the Exposures of Japanese deposit-taking institutions to subprime-related products
view the Exposures of Japanese deposit-taking institutions to securitized products based on the leading practices summarized in the FSF report
Source: FSA.go.jp
Renminbi-inspired gains fade
June 25, 2010--Asian equities saw the gains inspired by renminbi revaluation fade away over the week as investors took profits after weak US economic data clouded global growth optimism.
The FTSE Asia-Pacific index slipped 0.5 per cent to 221.42 in spite of recording its biggest one-day gain for seven months on Monday as Beijing’s currency policy move raised hopes for Chinese domestic demand.
But by Wednesday those hopes were trumped by a new bout of risk aversion after lacklustre US home sales data and a more downbeat tone on growth from the US Federal Reserve.
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Source: FT.com
TOCOM to Launch a New Oil Market in October 2010
June 23, 2010--Tokyo Commodity Exchange, Inc. (“TOCOM”) today announced that the Exchange has decided at the Board of Directors meeting to launch a new Oil Market, to be called “Chukyo Oil Market”, on October 12, 2010 taking over the market currently operated by Central Japan Commodity Exchange (“C-COM”) in response to C-COM’s request.
At the new market, named after the region where C-COM is located, gasoline and kerosene will be the listed commodities and their contract specifications will be identical to the current C-COM product, except for the trading method and trading hours. (At the launch of the market, the listed contract months will consist of the February 2011, March 2011 and April 2011 contracts.)
Despite the decrease of trading volume in recent years, C-COM’s oil market has played an important role as a public utility in this region with a good track record of physical delivery of the products. TOCOM intends to not only offer a forum where trading participants of the C-COM oil market can continue to trade, but also improve trading opportunities through the introduction of a new trading method and extended trading hours. It is expected that the Chukyo Oil Market will also attract new market players, which shall lead to the revitalization of the commodity market as well as to the enhancement of TOCOM’s corporate value.
TOCOM plans to apply for government approval shortly and to continue its preparations to commence trading of the new oil market on October 12, 2010, upon receipt of said approval.
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Source: TOCOM
HKEx to Introduce Options on Two A Share-related ETFs on 12 July
June 23, 2010--Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) will introduce options on the iShares FTSE/Xinhua A50 China Index Exchange Traded Fund (iShares A50 ETF) and the WISE CSI 300 China Tracker (WISE CSI300 ETF) on 12 July to expand the range of stock options it offers and further strengthen the China dimension of its markets.
Stock options, which include options on the Tracker Fund of Hong Kong – the first ETF listed in Hong Kong, had the highest turnover of the products in HKEx’s derivatives market in the first five months of this year, and the iShares A50 ETF and WISE CSI300 ETF are the two largest ETFs in terms of market capitalisation in HKEx’s securities market.
The managers of the iShares A50 and WISE CSI300 ETFs seek results that correspond to the performance of their benchmark indices by investing in structured products issued by third parties and linked to companies’ A shares or the ETF’s benchmark A-share index. Details of the ETFs are available from the issuers’ websites: iShares A50 ETF and WISE CSI300 ETF.
The new options’ contract sizes are in the following table along with the expiry months that will be available for trading when the options are introduced on 12 July.
<>A HREF="http://www.hkex.com.hk/eng/newsconsul/hkexnews/2010/100623news.htm" target="_TOP">READ MORE
Source: Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx)
DB Index Research -- Weekly ETF Market Review -- Asia-Pacific
June 22, 2010--Market Overview
There are 222 equity based ETFs in the Asia Pacific region with 310 listings across 12 countries and 15 exchanges. Japan has the largest market share by AUM accounting for 41.35% of the whole market, whilst China has the largest market share by turnover with 40.13%.
There were three new listing last week. Prudential Asset Management Company Ltd launched an ETF tracking the MKF Neo Value Index in the Korea SE, and Deutsche Bank AG listed two new funds offering access to two of the major economies in the Asia-Pacific region, Japan and Australia. The latter two ETFs were listed at SGX.
Turnover
Monthly average daily turnover declined 7.2% in the last week. Turnover for the previous week was USD 948m. The largest ETF by turnover was the China 50 ETF issued by China Asset Management with USD 167 m accounting for 17.6% of total turnover.
Assets Under Management
AUM rose 6.1% in the previous week. AUM as of June 18th was USD 64.1 bn. The largest ETF by AUM is the iShares Asia Trust - iShares FTSE/Xinhua A50 China Tracker managed by BlackRock with AUM of USD 6.6bn.
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Source: DB Index Research
Renminbi surges in forward markets If you are looking for a particuliar article and can not find it, please feel free to contact us for assistace.
June 21, 2010--The renminbi surged in the futures market on Monday after China signalled at the weekend that it would break the currency’s two-year peg to the dollar.
While there was no change in the official renminbi exchange rate on Monday, non-deliverable forwards – instruments that allow bets on future movements of the Chinese currency – shot higher as traders bet on an appreciation.
Twelve-month forwards – the most liquid contract – rose 1 per cent to Rmb6.6425 against the dollar, implying that traders expected a 2.3 per cent appreciation over the coming year. Six-month forwards were implying a 1.3 per cent appreciation.
Source: FT.com
