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Pandemic knocks Singapore into recession as GDP plummets 41% in second quarter
July 14, 2020--Singapore's trade-reliant economy plunged into recession in the second quarter with a record contraction, signalling a rough first half globally and an equally challenging outlook as the coronavirus crisis exacts a heavy toll on business and demand.
Gross domestic product (GDP) dived by a record 41.2% in the three months ended June, on a quarter-on-quarter annualised basis, preliminary data from the Ministry of Trade and Industry showed on Tuesday.
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Source: Reuters
Singapore says blockchain payments project ready for commercial rollout
July 12, 2020--Singapore has developed a blockchain-based payments network that could enable faster and cheaper international settlements, authorities said on Monday, adding that the next step was a commercial rollout.
The final phase of the years-long 'Project Ubin' saw the Monetary Authority of Singapore team up with state investor Temasek and J.P. Morgan (JPM.N) to develop the prototype multi-currency payments network.
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Source: reuters.com
Flow Traders appointed lead liquidity provider for new HKEX MSCI derivatives
July 9, 2020--HKEX confirmed in May it would expand its licensing agreement with MSCI to launch Asia and emerging market futures and options contracts.
Market maker Flow Traders has confirmed it has been appointed Tier 1 lead liquidity provider for Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing's (HKEX) new suite of MSCI-based derivatives.
HKEX has received approval for 33 new contracts from Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission, with plans to launch the derivates in phases throughout July and August. Flow Traders will make a market in 26 of those contracts during the T session in Hong Kong, and in 14 more contracts during the T+1 session.
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Source: thetradenews.com
COVID-19 accelerates shift to digital payments in APAC region, says GlobalData
July 9, 2020--COVID-19 has fast-tracked the transition to digital payments across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region as consumers opt for the comfort and safety of digital channels rather than expose themselves to disease vectors such as cash, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
Consumers globally and in Asia are increasingly going digital and are embracing electronic payments like never before. According to GlobalData revised forecasts, the total card payments in APAC market is expected to grow by 6.5% to reach US$20.3 trillion in 2020. This is expected to rise further to US$27.4 trillion by 2023.
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Source: globaldata.com
China's financial market reform stokes rally in yuan to 4-month high
July 9, 2020--China has announced a series of steps to open its financial markets in recent weeks, boosting investor sentiment and leading to an inflow of foreign money
The yuan rose 0.24 per cent to 6.98 per dollar on Thursday, its strongest level since March 13
The yuan's exchange rate strengthened above the psychologically important level of 7 per US dollar on Thursday, as optimism over new policies liberalising China's financial markets helped attract foreign capital.
The benchmark Shanghai Stock Exchange has risen more than 9 per cent so far this week, putting it on a course for its best weekly performance in five years and helping drive the appreciation of the yuan.
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Source: scmp.com
World's largest pension fund loses $165 billion in worst quarter
July 4, 2020--Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund lost 11%, or $164.7 billion, in the three months ended March, it said in Tokyo on Friday.
The results come just months after the fund revamped top management and revised its asset allocation to focus more on overseas debt.
Overseas bonds were the only major asset to generate a positive quarterly return.
The world's biggest pension fund posted a record loss in the first three months of 2020 after the coronavirus pandemic sparked a global market rout in the period.
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Source: news24.com
Reopening Asia: How the Right Policies Can Help Economic Recovery
June 30, 2020--For the first time in living memory, Asia's growth is expected to contract by 1.6 percent-a downgrade to the April projection of zero growth. While Asia's economic growth in the first quarter of 2020 was better than projected in the April World Economic Outlook-partly owing to early stabilization of the virus in some-projections for 2020 have been revised down for most of the countries in the region due to weaker global conditions and more protracted containment measures in several emerging economies.
In the absence of a second wave of infections and with unprecedented policy stimulus to support the recovery, growth in Asia is projected to rebound strongly to 6.6 percent in 2021. But even with this fast pickup in economic activity, output losses due to COVID-19 are likely to persist. We project Asia's economic output in 2022 to be about 5 percent lower compared with the level predicted before the crisis; and this gap will be much larger if we exclude China, where economic activity has already started to rebound.
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Source: IMF
Mystery of $2bn of loans backed by fake gold in China
June 29, 2020--Nasdaq-listed Kingold's play for trove of property stymied by corruption probe
More than a dozen Chinese financial institutions, mainly trust companies, loaned 20 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) over the past five years to Wuhan Kingold Jewelry Inc. with pure gold as collateral and insurance policies to cover any losses.
Kingold is the largest privately owned gold processor in central China's Hubei province. Its shares are listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange in New York. The company is led by Chairman Jia Zhihong, an intimidating ex-military man who is the controlling shareholder.
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Source: asia.nikkei.com
Singapore investors to climate stress test, record engagements under draft green rules
June 26, 2020--New rules will require Singaporean investors to develop climate scenario analysis capabilities and engage portfolio companies over climate change risks, while debtors lagging on environmental risk management may see their borrowing costs increase.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the island state's de facto central bank, has published a framework to manage environmental risks, which it expects to be adopted by the financial institutions it regulates.
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Source: responsible-investor.com
ASX users urge Australian exchange to delay blockchain project
June 25, 2020--ASX is under pressure to push back an ambitious plan to use blockchain technology to clear and settle trades in Australian equities because customers are worried about the implications of the rollout.
Computershare, one of the main share registry companies in Australia, told the Financial Times it was seeking a two-year delay in implementation because the project to overhaul critical systems lacked clarity.
The company said it had not been given the necessary technical, operational and regulatory information on how the new system would operate or the fees that would be charged by the ASX for existing and new service.
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Source: technocodex.com
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