S.Korea to impose capital gains tax on all stock derivatives
July 30, 2018--South Korea will expand capital gains taxes to cover all stock price index options and futures transactions as part of changes to tax codes following an annual review, the finance ministry said on Monday.
The move, set to kick in from April, comes as Asia's fourth-largest economy pushes to boost tax revenue to bolster fiscal spending in the face of a rapidly aging population.
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Source: Reuters
The World's Fastest-Growing Economy Looks Like It's Got Momentum
July 29, 2018--New orders picked up in June as bank loan disbursals grew
Growth recovery to push inflation higher, may prompt rate hike
The world's fastest growing major economy is showing signs of a recovery in animal spirits, suggesting India's mid-term outlook can weather global trade tensions and emerging market strains.
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Source: Bloomberg
IMF Staff Country Reports-Singapore: 2018 Article IV Consultation
July 27, 2018--Summary:
Singapore's economy is on a strong cyclical upswing. Economic growth has recovered to a three-year high, led by externally-oriented sectors that benefitted from the synchronized global expansion. Economic momentum is becoming more broad-based, helping to reduce the labor market slack.
Growth is expected at or above the potential rate in the near term, increasingly supported by domestic demand. Inflation is subdued but expected to rise modestly. The current account surplus, as a share of GDP, has remained large. Risks to the near-term outlook are broadly balanced and come mainly from external sources. Over the medium term, the structural transformation aimed to prepare Singapore for challenges from technological changes globally and population aging at home should help support higher productivity.
view the IMF Staff Country Reports-Singapore: 2018 Article IV Consultation
Source: IMF
IMF Country Focus-China's Economic Outlook in Six Charts
July 26, 2018--China's economy continues to perform strongly-with growth projected at 6.6 percent for 2018. Four decades of reform have transformed China from one of the poorest countries in the world to the second largest economy, said the IMF in its latest annual assessment of the economy.
1. China's strong GDP growth continues. The country now accounts for one-third of global growth. Over 800 million people have been lifted out of poverty and the country has achieved upper middle-income status. China’s per capita GDP continues to converge to that of the United States, albeit at a more moderate pace in the last few years.
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Source: IMF
ETFGI reports assets invested in ETFs and ETPs listed in Japan reached a record high of US$312 billion at the end of June 2018
July 26, 2018--ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm on trends in the global ETF/ETP ecosystem, reported today that that assets invested in ETFs and ETPs listed in Japan reached a record high of US$312 billion at the end of June 2018, surpassing the previous record of US$311 billion set at the end of May 2018. (All dollar values in USD unless otherwise noted.)
Highlights
Assets invested in ETFs/ETPs listed in Japan increased by 0.20% during June 2018 to reach a record high of $312 Bn, beating the prior record of $311 Bn set in May 2018.
Year-to-date, assets have increased by 13.1% from $276 Bn at the end of 2017.
In June 2018, ETFs/ETPs listed in Japan saw net inflows of $6.82 Bn.
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Source: ETFG
Recommendations for the further development of China's gold market
July 25, 2018-- Today, China's gold industry is at a crossroads; leading stakeholders are asking where it will go next. We believe the consideration of three questions will help set the course for the industry over the next three to five years:
How can China's domestic gold investment market become stronger?
How can China's gold trading market prepare for greater global integration?
How can gold support the internationalisation of the renminbi?
This report focuses on China's gold investment and trading markets. The nation's jewellery and technology markets are robust and, as such, are out of the scope of this paper. But China's investment and trading markets would benefit from strategic guidance and developing them will support the internationalisation of the renminbi.
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Source: World Gold Council (WGC)
Stocks rise as Beijing seeks to boost economy with US$73.6 billion cash injection
July 24, 2018--Shares in Hong Kong and mainland China rose on Tuesday after the Chinese government moved to lift the economy with a series of new measures amid the trade tensions with the United States and a scandal in the pharmaceutical sector.
The State Council, the state cabinet, said on Monday it would adopt a "more proactive fiscal policy" and would speed up raising and spending 1.35 trillion yuan (about US$199 billion) for local government, designated to be spent on infrastructure.
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Source: South China Morning Post
Battle between mainland China and HKEX heats up
July 17, 2018--Shortly before Charles Li boarded a plane to Beijing, the head of Hong Kong's stock exchange admitted that there had been some "disagreements" over the future of Stock Connect, the trading link between Hong Kong and mainland China's equity markets.
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Source: FT.com
Philippines Growth to Remain Strong Despite Global Uncertainty
July 13, 2018--The World Bank maintains its 6.7 percent growth forecast for 2018 and 2019 despite rising global uncertainty. Considering recent economic data, the composition of expected growth was revised as compared to the April edition of the World Bank Philippines Economic Update.
Given recent fiscal trends, government consumption growth was revised upwards, while private consumption growth is expected to expand at 5.9 percent in 2018 and 6.2 percent in 2019.
Investment growth was slightly upgraded due to higher public capital outlays, including increased infrastructure spending. Overall, it is anticipated that real GDP growth will increase towards the end of 2018 and into the first half of 2019 with higher election-related public spending.
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Source: World Bank
IMF Staff Country Reports-Vietnam: Selected Issues
July 10, 2018--POTENTIAL OUTPUT ESTIMATES-A NEW LOOK1
Vietnam has undergone a major transition in the last decade. This paper seeks to assess how this
transformation has affected its growth potential. Employing a range of methodologies, the analysis
concludes that Vietnam's medium-term growth potential has increased from 6.2 percent estimated in
2014 to 6.5 percent.
Acceleration of reforms that have generated productivity gains in the last decade,
including the implementation of agreed free trade agreements, could further boost growth potential.
1. Vietnam has undergone a major transformation in the last decade. A very productive export-oriented sector financed by FDI has boomed, and in 2017, was responsible for more than two-thirds of Vietnamese exports and a third of the ASEAN's tech exports. Urbanization has progressed and, concomitantly, employment has continued to shift away from agriculture toward industry and the service sectors, further boosting productivity. The large state-owned enterprise (SOE) sector, which has historically been a barrier to the development of a vibrant private sector, is undergoing equitization and reforms. These measures are helping to limit state involvement in the economy by restricting SOE operations to core areas. Together, these forces have contributed to increase Vietnam's productivity.
view the IMF Staff Country Reports-Vietnam: Selected Issues
Source: IMF
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