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Swap Facility with US Federal Reserve
January 28, 2010--The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said today that the temporary reciprocal currency arrangement (swap line) that was established with the US Federal Reserve on 30 October 2008 will expire on 1 February 2010, as previously announced.
2. MAS joined global central banks in establishing a temporary reciprocal currency arrangement (swap line) of US$30 billion with the US Federal Reserve in October 2008. The swap facilities allowed the Federal Reserve to provide US dollar liquidity to financial institutions through central banks in sound, well-managed and systemically important financial centres to help to improve liquidity conditions in global financial markets and to mitigate the spread of difficulties in obtaining US dollar funding that had arisen as a result of the global financial crisis. This helped to enhance the robustness of the US dollar funding and foreign exchange markets in Singapore by reinforcing confidence among global financial institutions. MAS did not have to draw on the facility.
3. Over the past year, wholesale funding market conditions improved globally and in Singapore. The swap lines, which were established to relieve pressures in global funding markets, are no longer needed. They will therefore be allowed to expire on 1 February 2010 for the central banks with such arrangements.
Source: The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
C-COM Starts Joint Studies with OSE for Development of New Products
January 28, 2010--The Central Japan Commodity Exchange (C-COM) and the Osaka Securities Exchange Co, Ltd. (OSE) have agreed to start joint studies for the development of new products to be listed on the C-COM markets.
Through this collaboration, C-COM is to accelerate feasibility studies for the development of new products which further enhance the conveniences of the C-COM market for the market participants.
These joint studies are made as a specific project under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) entered into on May 27, 2008 among C-COM, OSE and Kansai Commodity Exchange.
Source: Central Japan Commodity Exchange (C-COM)
India banking reforms focus on Islamic finance
January 28, 2010--India is planning to overhaul regulation of its financial system to attract investments from the Gulf and to encourage its largely unbanked Muslim population to save money in a way compliant with their religion, a senior government adviser said on Thursday.
K Rahman Khan, deputy chairman of India’s upper house of parliament, told the Financial Times that the ruling Congress party has proposed the introduction of Islamic financial products. The party was seeking regulatory approval for a move to capture one of the fastest growing sectors in the financial services industry by the finance ministry, the Reserve Bank of India and Securities and Exchange Board of India, he said.
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Source: FT.com
DB Index Research -- Weekly ETF Reports -- Asia-Pacific
January 27, 2010--Highlights
Market Overview
There are 201 equity based ETFs in the Asia Pacific region with 266 listings across 12 countries and 15 exchanges. Japan has the largest market share by AUM accounting for 40.60% of the whole market, whilst China has the largest market share by turnover with 48.86%.
There was one new listing in the last week. Kotak Mahindra Asset Management listed one new ETF in National Stock Exchange.
Turnover
Monthly average daily turnover rose 8.4% in the last week. Turnover for the previous week was USD 1003m. The largest ETF by turnover was the China 50 ETF issued by China Asset Management with USD 307m accounting for 30.6% of total turnover.
Assets Under Management
AUM declined 4.8% in the previous week. AUM as of Jan 25th were USD 60.8bn. The largest ETF by AUM is the TOPIX ETF managed by Nomura Asset Management with AUM of USD 6.1bn.
To request a copy of the report Gold, platinum ETFs to be launched on Japan's Osaka Exchange
The OSE will on Feb. 15 list an ETF tracking gold futures contracts and an ETF tracking platinum futures contracts, both listed on TOCOM, Japan's largest commodity exchange said. read more
S&P lowers Japan credit rating outlook
“The outlook change reflects our view that the Japanese government’s diminishing economic policy flexibility may lead to a downgrade unless measures can be taken to stem fiscal and deflationary pressures,” S&P said in a statement. read more
Two First ETFs Investing in Japan's Commodity Market (TOCOM) to be Listed in February
The December 2008 amendment of the Ordinance for Enforcement of the Act on Securities Investment Trust and Securities Investment Corporations of Japan enabled investment trusts to include commodity futures contracts in their portfolios. Thereafter, a number of investment funds have been developed in response to the investors’ growing interest in the commodity markets to diversify their investment. Unlike the ones that were previously listed, these ETFs are the first ones to invest in a Japanese commodity futures market.
Tadashi Ezaki, President & CEO of TOCOM commented, “We expect that the launch of this type of ETF will benefit the commodity market of Japan through an increase in trading activity, and that it will also be well received by pension funds and other Japanese institutional investors, which have so far invested their funds mainly in securities, as a new effective way of starting to invest in commodities. We also hope it would contribute to our goal of strengthening the linkage between financial markets and our market. We believe that this development will increase the competitiveness of the Japanese exchanges, and furthermore, enhance the competitive edge of the financial and capital markets of Japan.” Calculation And Publication Of Tokyo Stock Exchange Dividend Focus 100 Index - New Index Focused On Dividend Yield read more Development of Institutional Frameworks Pertaining to Financial and Capital Markets
View the Draft Blueprint for the Development of Institutional Frameworks, view the Development of Institutional Frameworks Pertaining to Financial and Capital Markets view the Main Points of the Development of Institutional Frameworks Pertaining to Financial and Capital Markets FSA extends temporary measures regarding restrictions on short selling and purchase of own stocks by listed companies
1) An "uptick rule requirement" which prohibits, in principle, short selling at prices no higher than the latest market price;
2) Requirements for traders to verify and flag whether or not the transactions in question are short selling; and
In addition, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) has put in force the following measures, as temporary measures effective until January 31, 2010 (See the FSA press release on October 27, 2008. press release on March 27, 2009. press release on July 28, 2009. press release on October 23, 2009.): read more
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Source: Aram Flores and Shan Lan -DB Index Research
January 26, 2010--The Osaka Securities Exchange will list Japan's first exchange-traded funds tracking domestic commodities markets next month, the Tokyo Commodity Exchange said on Tuesday.
TOCOM said the move is expected to help bolster activity in domestic commodities markets by providing new investment opportunities in commodities futures.
Source: MineWeb
January 26, 2010--Standard & Poor’s lowered its assessment of Japan’s fiscal health Tuesday, threatening a credit rating cut if the economy stays weak and debt remains sky high.
In a surprise move, S&P affirmed the country’s “AA” long-term debt rating but revised its outlook to “negative” from “stable.”
Source: Todays Zaman
January 26, 2010--Tokyo Commodity Exchange, Inc. (“TOCOM” ) announced today that two Exchange Traded Funds (ETF), which invest directly in its gold futures contract and its platinum futures contract respectively, have been approved for listing on the Osaka Securities Exchange on February 15, 2010. These are the first Japanese ETFs which invest directly in the Japanese commodity futures market.
The ETF investing in the gold futures contract is set up and managed by Mizuho Asset Management Co. Ltd., and tracks the settlement price of gold futures in the back contract month (however, for the rollover, the new back contract month will only be tracked on and after the first business day of the month following the day on which it was generated). The other ETF investing in the platinum futures contract is set up and managed by Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd., and tracks the performance of the Nikkei-TOCOM Platinum Index.
Source: Tokyo Commodity Exchange, Inc. (“TOCOM” )
January 25, 2010--The Tokyo Stock Exchange will calculate and publish a new dividend yield-focused index called "Tokyo Stock Exchange Dividend Focus 100 Index" to satisfy the diverse needs for stock price indices in the market.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange Dividend Focus 100 Index is an index which places focus on the estimated dividend yields of its constituent issues. The index will be made up of the top 100 issues (90 stocks, 10 REITs) which have large market capitalization and high estimated dividend yield, out of constituent issues of the TOPIX 1000 and Tokyo Stock Exchange REIT Index.
Source: Tokyo Stock Exchange
January 22, 2010--With regard to the “Draft Blueprint for the Development of Institutional Frameworks,” which was published on December 17, 2009, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) held meetings to exchange opinions with market participants and others and received a number of opinions. The FSA also invited opinions through its website, resulting in a total of 163 opinions being received from 43 individuals and groups.
Drawing upon these opinions, the FSA compiled the following “Development of Institutional Frameworks Pertaining to Financial and Capital Markets.” Thank you for your cooperation.
Source: Financial Services Agency, The Japanese Government
January 22, 2010--1.The following regulatory measures on short selling are currently in place, with regard to all listed stocks in Japan:
3) Request the exchanges to make daily announcements on their aggregate price of short selling regarding all securities and aggregate price of short selling by sector (The announcements have been made sequentially since October 14, 2008). (See the FSA press release on October 14, 2008.)
Source: Financial Services Agency, The Japanese Government
