Dramatic surge in China carbon emissions signals climate danger
May 31, 2018--With China's CO2 pollution on the rise, is it time to panic?
China's carbon emissions growth has accelerated since the beginning of the year, leading to warnings that the country could be headed for its largest annual increase in climate pollution since 2011.
Led by increased demand for coal, oil and gas, China's CO2 emissions for the first three months of 2018 were 4% higher than they were for the same period in 2017, according to an Unearthed analysis of new government figures.
Analysts have suggested the country's carbon emissions could rise this year by 5%- the largest annual increase in seven years, back when the airpocalypse was at its peak.
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Source: unearthed.greenpeace.org
World Bank-China Economic Update -May 2018
May 31, 2018--Key messages
Economic activity in China remains resilient, with GDP growing by 6.9 percent in 2017 and 6.8 percent in the first quarter of 2018.
While consumption continues to drive growth, investment growth has rebounded from the lows in 2017, particularly in the private sector.
However, the long-term trend is slower investment growth accompanying slower economic growth, as an important part of China's "new normal" is the process of rebalancing away from investment toward consumption.
Even with the slowdown, investment is still high by international standards, so China’s main challenge is not to raise the growth rate of investment, but to ensure that it goes to sectors and firms that are more productive.
view the World Bank report-China economic update: investing in high-quality growth
Source: World Bank
IMF Staff Completes 2018 Article IV Mission to China
May 29, 2018--China's economic growth accelerated in 2017 and is expected to weaken only slightly in 2018 to 6.6 percent and moderate gradually to about 5½ percent by 2023.
Staff welcome the authorities' strategy to more decisively shift the policy focus from high-speed to high-quality growth. This will increase the benefits of growth for the Chinese people, as well make growth more sustainable.
Achieving this goal would be greatly helped by accelerating reforms in many areas, including de-emphasizing growth target, further reining in credit growth, boosting consumption, allowing market forces a more decisive role, deepening opening up and modernizing policy frameworks.
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Source: IMF
IMF Working Papers-Australia's Linkages with China: Prospects and Ramifications of China's Economic Transition
May 22, 2018--China and Australia have increasingly strong links, especially through trade. These are driven by demand from China for Australian commodities (coal and iron ore) and services (tourism and education). These links are influenced by China's transition to a services-driven, consumer-led economy.
Using ANZIMF, the Australia-New Zealand Integrated Monetary and Fiscal model, three risks (both upside and downside) to China during this transition process are considered, focusing on their spillovers to Australia. One simple takeaway is central to each risk-while the real GDP response to shocks in Australia typically is small, responses in demand components or sectors are usually much larger-along with three further takeaways, all of which help in the analysis of Australia in relation to any risk emanating from China.
Hang Seng Indexes launches Big Bay Area Composite index
May 21, 2018--Hang Seng Indexes Company Limited ('Hang Seng Indexes') will launch the Hang Seng Stock Connect Big Bay Area Composite Index on 21 May 2018 (Monday).
The index aims to reflect the performance of companies that are listed in Hong Kong and/or mainland China and that mainly operate in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Big Bay Area ('Big Bay
Area'). The Big Bay Area encompasses nine cities and two Special Administrative Regions ('SARs'),
namely Hong Kong, Macao, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Zhongshan, Dongguan, Zhaoqing, Huizhou and Jiangmen.
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Source: Hang Seng Indexes Company Limited
International Focus: Looking at Last Month in the Korean Equity Market
May 18, 2018--Global stock markets finished up in April, but performances were mixed by region. Developed markets were bullish, namely the eurozone states Italy, France, UK, Germany and Spain.
Meanwhile, emerging economies such as Russia, Indonesia, China and Taiwan stock exchanges retreated on a bearish note.
Concerns about a US-China trade war, the spread of geopolitical risks involving the US, Syria and Russia, in addition to the pullbacks of Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google, dubbed the FANG stocks, appear to have sapped the appetite for risk assets.
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Source: Korea Investment Management, portfolio manager of the AdvisorShares KIM Korea Equity ETF
HONG KONG: SFC Concludes Consultation on New OFC Rules and OFC Code
May 18, 2018--On 8th May 2018, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) released consultation conclusions on the proposed Securities and Futures (Open-ended Fund Companies) Rules (OFC Rules) and Code on Open-ended Fund Companies (OFC Code) which set out detailed legal and regulatory requirements for the new open-ended fund company (OFC) structure.
This will enable investment funds to be established in corporate form in Hong Kong, in addition to the current unit trust form.
After considering market feedback, the SFC will implement the proposals set out in the consultation paper with certain modifications and clarifications.
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Source: Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission
BetaShares Australian ETF Review-April 2018
May 16, 2018--Industry returns to growth, aided by strong markets
After last month's rare industry dip, the Australian ETF industry returned to its growing ways this month, aided by strong performance in both global and Australian sharemarkets-reaching a record high in FuM of $37.9B.
Market cap
ASX Exchange Traded Funds Market Cap: $37.9B-New Record High
Market cap growth for month: +3.6%, $1, 307m
Market cap growth for the last 12 months: 34%,+ $9.6B
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Source: BetaShares
IMF Staff Completes 2018 Article IV Mission to Singapore
May 16, 2018-- Singapore's economy strengthened markedly in 2017, with GDP growth projected to moderate in 2018 at 2.9%.
A successful transition of Singapore's economy to an innovation-based growth model could help raise productivity and investment, and exert positive spillovers for ASEAN and beyond.
The team supports further data dependent normalization of monetary policy during 2018-19 and the expansionary fiscal policy.
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by Alex Mourmouras visited Singapore from May 3 to May 15 to hold discussions in the context of the country's 2018 Article IV Consultation.
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Source: IMF
Japan's economy shrinks for first time in two years
May 16, 2018--Japan's economy shrank in the first quarter of 2018 for the first time in two years, ending the longest stretch of economic growth since the 1980s.
The world's third biggest economy contracted at an annualised rate of 0.6%, official data showed.
Expectations were for an annualised contraction of 0.2%.
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Source: BBC
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