Thailand's Economic Outlook in Six Charts
June 8, 2018--Thailand's economic outlook is improving. Growth is estimated at 3.9 percent in 2017-the fastest pace on an annual basis since 2013-but it has yet to become broad-based.
To secure growth that benefits everyone, the country will need to implement key reforms to raise domestic demand and prepare for the impact of an aging population, said the IMF in its latest annual assessment.
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Source: IMF
SGX reports market statistics for May 2018
June 7, 2018--Securities daily average value (SDAV) on 31 May 2018 was the highest single day SDAV at S$3.53 billion since 31 May 2013, ahead of changes from MSCI's May 2018 semi-annual review of its equity indexes
Open interest in SGX FTSE China A50 Index futures grew 25% month-on-month, as investors geared up for MSCI's A-Shares inclusion
Securities
Total Securities market turnover value was at S$28.2 billion, up 6% month-on-month (m-o-m) and up 6% year-on-year (y-o-y), over 21 trading days.
There were 21 trading days in April 2018 and 21 in May 2017.
Securities daily average value (SDAV) was S$1.34 billion, up 6% m-o-m and up 6% y-o-y.
Market turnover value of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) was S$236 million, up 18% m-o-m and down 8% y-o-y.
Market turnover value of structured warrants and Daily Leveraged Certificates (DLCs) was S$1.40 billion, down 18% m-o-m and up 23% y-o-y*.
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Source: SGX
Solactive releases Australian Investment Grade Corporate Bond Select TR Index underlying BetaShares Australian Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF
June 7, 2018--Solactive is pleased to announce the launch of the Solactive Australian Investment Grade Corporate Bond Select TR Index used as the basis for BetaShares Australian Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF ("CRED"). The index seeks to replicate the performance of a portfolio of investment grade, senior corporate bonds denominated in Australian dollars (AUD).
The index methodology will favor securities offering superior expected excess returns over Australian government bonds. By selecting bonds based upon expected returns rather than debt outstanding, the index methodology seeks to avoid shortcomings of traditional debt-weighted indices and provide relatively higher returns.
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Sourec: Solactive
World Gold Council-Market Update: China's jewellery market-quietly improving
June 7, 2018--Fuelled by an expanding economy and rising wealth, China's gold jewellery demand has boomed since the early 2000s. Despite this, it has endured some challenging years: jewellery market research shows demand shrank by one-third between 2013 and 2016. But 2017 saw modest growth, following a period of reinvention.
Jewellers' efforts to modernise their product mix, improve design, and seamlessly blend customers' online and offline experiences are starting to bear fruit. It is our view that China's jewellery market has turned a corner. We believe a more consumer-focused industry, combined with China's rising wealth, will support global gold demand and gold's long-term performance.
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Source: World Gold Council (WGC)
ASX Investment Products Monthly Update-May 2018
June 7, 2018--May 2018 saw continued growth in Assets under Management in LICs (up 1.2%), Infrastructure Funds (up 1.4%) and ETPs (up 1.4%) on a month on month basis.
Total Assets under Management of all Investment Products decreased by 0.9% over the month of May 2018 due to decreases in AREITs (down 3.4%).
ASX welcomed five new Investment Products in the month of May:
AREIT (Australian Real Estate Investment Trust)
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) admitted on 31 May 2018
LIC (Listed Investment Companies)
Gryphon Capital Income Trust (GCI) admitted on 25 May 2018
Evans & Partners Asia Fund (EAF) admitted on 17 May 2018
ETF (Exchange Traded Funds)
Betashares Australia 200 ETF (A200) admitted on 8 May 2018
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Source: ASX
Cryptocurrency Exchange Huobi Wants to Become Decentralized
June 6, 2018--Huobi, one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, wants to walk the talk.
The Singapore-based platform plans to invest $100 million toward building Huobi Chain.
Once the project is complete, Huobi plans to migrate its operations onto this blockchain, according to a statement by the company.
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Source: Bloomberg
India raises key rate for first time since 2014, retains 'neutral' stance
June 6, 2018--Growing inflation concerns prompted the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to raise its policy rate for the first time in over four years on Wednesday, but it surprised some economists by keeping its stance "neutral" instead of changing to "tighten".
The central bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) lifted the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25 percent-the first rate change since a 25 basis point cut in August 2017.
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Source: Reuters
June 2018 Indonesia Economic Quarterly: Learning more, growing faster
June 5, 2018--The Indonesian economy continued to expand at a robust pace in Q1 of 2018, lifted by strong investment. Real GDP growth edged down to 5.1 percent in Q1 2018, slightly less than the 5.2 percent in Q4 2017.
Higher global commodity prices spurred stronger investment, especially in machine, equipment, and vehicles. As a result, gross capital fixed formation grew the fastest in more than 5 years. Higher growth in machinery investment also led to a further pickup in imports, which grew more than twice the pace of exports, and acted as a drag on growth.
The current account deficit narrowed in Q1, as the services trade deficit shrank sharply. The current account deficit narrowed to 2.1 percent of GDP in Q1, from 2.3 percent of GDP in Q4 of last year, partly on stronger foreign tourist arrivals.
view the World Bank June 2018 Indonesia Economic Quarterly: Learning more, growing faster
Source: World Bank
ETFGI reports assets invested in ETFs/ETPs listed in Japan reached 311 billion US dollars at the end of April 2018
June 5, 2018--ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm on trends in the global ETF/ETP ecosystem, reported today that assets invested in ETFs/ETPs listed in Japan reached US$311.06 Bn at the end of April 2018. (All dollar values in USD unless otherwise noted.)
Highlights
Assets invested in ETFs/ETPs listed in Japan reached US$311.06 Bn at the end of April 2018
In April 2018, ETFs and ETPs listed in Japan gathered net inflows of $968 Mn, the lowest inflows since October 2017
April 2018 also marked the 6th consecutive month of net inflows into ETFs/ETPs listed in Japan
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Source: ETFGI
IMF Working Papers-Inequality in China-Trends, Drivers and Policy Remedies
June 5, 2018--Summary:
China has experienced rapid economic growth over the past two decades and is on the brink of eradicating poverty. However, income inequality increased sharply from the early 1980s and rendered China among the most unequal countries in the world. This trend has started to reverse as China has experienced a modest decline in inequality since 2008.
This paper identifies various drivers behind these trends-including structural changes such as urbanization and aging and, more recently, policy initiatives to combat it. It finds that policies will need to play an important role in curbing inequality in the future, as projected structural trends will put further strain on equity considerations. In particular, fiscal policy reforms have the potential to enhance inclusiveness and equity, both on the tax and expenditure side.
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Source: IMF