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OECD Economic Survey of Korea 2010
June 15, 2010--Chapter 1: Sustaining the recovery from the global financial crisis by promoting Korea’s medium-term growth potential
Korea has achieved one of the strongest recoveries among OECD countries from the 2008 global recession, led by its robust export performance and the largest fiscal stimulus among member countries. The expansion is projected to continue through 2011 as the positive impact from external demand spreads further to the domestic economy. Sustaining high growth over the medium term requires narrowing the large labour productivity gap with more advanced OECD economies through reforms, particularly in services, where productivity is low.
The priority is to strengthen competition by eliminating domestic entry barriers, accelerating regulatory reform, upgrading competition policy and reducing barriers to trade and inflows of foreign direct investment. Such measures should be accompanied by reforms to reduce labour market dualism, which has negative consequences for growth and equity. In addition, it is important to increase labour force participation, notably among women and older persons, not least to mitigate the impact of population.
Chapter 2: Macroeconomic policy: the exit from fiscal and monetary stimulus
Korea’s strong recovery from the global financial crisis stems in part from an effective macroeconomic policy response. The prompt withdrawal of fiscal stimulus in 2010 will help meet the medium-term fiscal plan for reducing budget deficits. Given the increase in government spending in the past, making the targets in the plan more binding is important to help achieve the fiscal target. In addition, the broadening of tax bases would be beneficial in this regard.
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Source: OECD
Bank of Japan details $33bn loan programme
June 15, 2010-Japan's central bank has announced plans to provide up to 3 trillion yen (£22bn; $33bn) in low interest loans in an effort to spur economic growth.
The bank plans to make the money available to commercial banks to encourage them to lend more to private businesses.
Firms in growth sectors including energy, the environment and tourism will be targeted by the scheme.
The Bank of Japan also confirmed it would hold interest rates near zero.
Rates have remained at 0.1% since the end of 2008, with Japan contining to fight deflation and recover slowly from recession.
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Source: BBC
DB Index Research -- Weekly ETF Market Review -- Asia-Pacific
June 14, 2010--Highlights
Market Overview
There are 219 equity based ETFs in the Asia Pacific region with 307 listings across 12 countries and 15 exchanges. Japan has the largest market share by AUM accounting for 41.44% of the whole market, whilst China has the largest market share by turnover with 38.96%.
KOSEF Mid Cap Pure Value ETF, listed on Korean Stock Exchange since Jul 07, was de-listed due to insufficient assets.
Turnover
Monthly average daily turnover declined 12.8% in the last week. Turnover for the previous week was USD 1021m. The largest ETF by turnover was the iShares Asia Trust - iShares FTSE/Xinhua A50 China Tracker issued by BlackRock with USD 204m accounting for 19.9% of total turnover.
Assets Under Management
AUM rose 2.1% in the previous week. AUM as of June 11th was USD 60.4 bn. The largest ETF by AUM is the iShares Asia Trust - iShares FTSE/Xinhua A50 China Tracker managed by BlackRock with AUM of USD 6.3bn.
To request a copy of the report
Source: DB Index Research
4 Commodity ETFs to be Listed (Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation)
June 14, 2010--Today, Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc. (TSE) approved the listing of 4 spot commodity ETFs (Gold, Platinum, Silver and Palladium), managed by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation. They will be listed on Friday, July 2, 2010.
| Code | Name | Trading Unit | Underlying Index?(current price)?*Note |
| 1540 (ISIN JP3047190008? | Japan Physical Gold ETF | 1 unit | Gold bullion |
| 1541 (ISIN JP3047200005) | Japan Physical Platinum ETF | 1 unit | Platinum bullion |
| 1542 (ISIN JP3047210004) | Japan Physical Silver ETF | 1 unit | Silver bullion |
| 1543 (ISIN JP3047220003) | Japan Physical Palladium ETF | 1 unit | Palladium bullion |
(*)Note: The underlying index price is the current price (theoretical price) calculated based on futures price at the Tokyo Commodities Exchange.
These domestically created spot commodity ETFs are backed by physical commodities and will be the first of its kind to be listed in Japan. Its underlying commodities are held domestically and investors will be able to redeem the ETFs in exchange for the physical commodity.
With these listings, there will be a total of 92 ETFs listed on the Tokyo market, bringing us closer to the goal of 100 listed ETFs by the end of fiscal year 2010, as laid out in the Medium-Term Management Plan. The TSE will continue working to diversify the ETF market and improve the convenience of our market for all investors.
Source: Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc. (TSE)
Britain's Standard Chartered lists in Mumbai
June 11, 2010--British bank Standard Chartered's Indian Depository Receipts (IDRs) traded close to their offer price in debut trading on the Mumbai stock exchange on Friday, in the first issue of its kind.
The bank, which makes most of its profits in Asia, last month raised 530 million dollars through the pioneering sale of IDRs.
IDRs are rupee-denominated certificates similar to US Depository Receipts that show ownership of shares in an overseas firm, with every 10 IDRs representing one Standard Chartered share.
Foreign companies are not allowed to list shares directly in India.
Chinese inflation exceeds 3% target The continuing rise in consumer prices comes as an outbreak of strikes in several industrial areas of the country is raising the prospect of wage inflation. read more Sensex up 185 points in opening trade
Stocks of oil and gas, auto, realty and metal sectors were front-runners, extending support to the benchmark Sensex. Likewise, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose 54.85 points, or 1.08 per cent, to 5,132.95 points.
read more Korea : Economic Survey
A Policy Brief with the main conclusions will be freely accessible in pdf format (in English, Korean and French) on the OECD’s web site at www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/korea. You are invited to include this internet link in reports on the survey. Korea Exchange: Trading Volume Of KOSPI 200 Option And Single Stock Futures Set A New Record Investments ebb in gold funds Iyer, who also manages Kotak Gold ETF, said, “Since gold prices in the domestic and international markets are surging to newer highs, investors are probably postponing their investment decisions for a better entry point. read more If you are looking for a particuliar article and can not find it, please feel free to contact us
Source: Yahoo News
June 11, 2010--Chinese inflation rose in May above the 3 per cent target set by the government for the year, at a time when wage pressures in the economy are also rising. But other indicators released on Friday suggested growth in the economy was lower.
Consumer price inflation increased to 3.1 per cent from 2.8 per cent the month before, while factory gate inflation was also higher at 7.1 per cent in May, up from 6.8 per cent.
Source: FT.com
June 10, 2010--The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex surged by another 185 points in the opening trade today on sustained buying by funds, taking cues from firming global markets.
The 30-share index, which had gained nearly 305 points in the previous two trading sessions, edged higher by 184.67 points, or 1.09 per cent, to trade over 17,000-points level at 17,106.75 points.
Source: The Times of India
June 10, 2010-- The OECD’s latest economic survey of Korea, to be published on Tuesday 15 June 2010, looks at some of the major challenges facing the country. They include getting more people into work, improving competition, reforming the financial and health sectors and promoting green growth.
A news briefing will be held at 10.00 a.m. the same day in the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Government Complex, Gwacheon, Korea. It will be presented by Randall Jones, senior economist at the OECD. To register for this event, journalists should contact Ms. Sun-young Park of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance (; sypark@mosf.go.kr).
Source: OECD
June 10, 2010-Trading volume of KOSPI 200 Option was 37,284,508 contracts on June 10, setting a new record. The trading volume on the last trading day surged because of increasing demand of investors to liquidate positions and to take advantage of arbitrage opportunities.
Also, trading volume and value of Single Stock Futures set a new record of 386,295 contracts and KRW 194.2 billion, respectively on the same day. Investors actively traded HYNIXSEMI, KIA MTR and WOORI FINA which accounted 70.8% of total trading volume to roll over their positions. The previous record trading volume was 353,809 contracts, set on May 19, 2010 and the same of trading value was KRX 182.2 billion, set on March 10, 2010. (KRX).
Source: Online News
June 9, 2010--Investment in gold exchange traded funds (ETFs) has slowed down significantly over the past few months as record prices of the yellow metal have led investors to book profits rather than making fresh buys.
Gold ETFs are paper securities traded on the stock exchanges and have physical gold as the underlying asset. They track the price of physical gold. “Over the last couple of months, we have witnessed a slowdown in incremental inflows into gold ETFs, while redemption requests have increased,” said Lakshmi Iyer of Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company.
Source: The Telegraph
