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India banking reforms focus on Islamic finance
January 28, 2010--India is planning to overhaul regulation of its financial system to attract investments from the Gulf and to encourage its largely unbanked Muslim population to save money in a way compliant with their religion, a senior government adviser said on Thursday.
K Rahman Khan, deputy chairman of India’s upper house of parliament, told the Financial Times that the ruling Congress party has proposed the introduction of Islamic financial products. The party was seeking regulatory approval for a move to capture one of the fastest growing sectors in the financial services industry by the finance ministry, the Reserve Bank of India and Securities and Exchange Board of India, he said.
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Source: FT.com
DB Index Research -- Weekly ETF Reports -- Asia-Pacific
January 27, 2010--Highlights
Market Overview
There are 201 equity based ETFs in the Asia Pacific region with 266 listings across 12 countries and 15 exchanges. Japan has the largest market share by AUM accounting for 40.60% of the whole market, whilst China has the largest market share by turnover with 48.86%.
There was one new listing in the last week. Kotak Mahindra Asset Management listed one new ETF in National Stock Exchange.
Turnover
Monthly average daily turnover rose 8.4% in the last week. Turnover for the previous week was USD 1003m. The largest ETF by turnover was the China 50 ETF issued by China Asset Management with USD 307m accounting for 30.6% of total turnover.
Assets Under Management
AUM declined 4.8% in the previous week. AUM as of Jan 25th were USD 60.8bn. The largest ETF by AUM is the TOPIX ETF managed by Nomura Asset Management with AUM of USD 6.1bn.
To request a copy of the report Gold, platinum ETFs to be launched on Japan's Osaka Exchange
The OSE will on Feb. 15 list an ETF tracking gold futures contracts and an ETF tracking platinum futures contracts, both listed on TOCOM, Japan's largest commodity exchange said. read more
S&P lowers Japan credit rating outlook
“The outlook change reflects our view that the Japanese government’s diminishing economic policy flexibility may lead to a downgrade unless measures can be taken to stem fiscal and deflationary pressures,” S&P said in a statement. read more
Two First ETFs Investing in Japan's Commodity Market (TOCOM) to be Listed in February
The December 2008 amendment of the Ordinance for Enforcement of the Act on Securities Investment Trust and Securities Investment Corporations of Japan enabled investment trusts to include commodity futures contracts in their portfolios. Thereafter, a number of investment funds have been developed in response to the investors’ growing interest in the commodity markets to diversify their investment. Unlike the ones that were previously listed, these ETFs are the first ones to invest in a Japanese commodity futures market.
Tadashi Ezaki, President & CEO of TOCOM commented, “We expect that the launch of this type of ETF will benefit the commodity market of Japan through an increase in trading activity, and that it will also be well received by pension funds and other Japanese institutional investors, which have so far invested their funds mainly in securities, as a new effective way of starting to invest in commodities. We also hope it would contribute to our goal of strengthening the linkage between financial markets and our market. We believe that this development will increase the competitiveness of the Japanese exchanges, and furthermore, enhance the competitive edge of the financial and capital markets of Japan.” Calculation And Publication Of Tokyo Stock Exchange Dividend Focus 100 Index - New Index Focused On Dividend Yield read more Development of Institutional Frameworks Pertaining to Financial and Capital Markets
View the Draft Blueprint for the Development of Institutional Frameworks, view the Development of Institutional Frameworks Pertaining to Financial and Capital Markets view the Main Points of the Development of Institutional Frameworks Pertaining to Financial and Capital Markets FSA extends temporary measures regarding restrictions on short selling and purchase of own stocks by listed companies
1) An "uptick rule requirement" which prohibits, in principle, short selling at prices no higher than the latest market price;
2) Requirements for traders to verify and flag whether or not the transactions in question are short selling; and
In addition, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) has put in force the following measures, as temporary measures effective until January 31, 2010 (See the FSA press release on October 27, 2008. press release on March 27, 2009. press release on July 28, 2009. press release on October 23, 2009.): read more
DB Index Research -- Weekly ETF Reports -- Asia-Pacific
Assets Under Management To request a copy of the report Joint Statement On Closer Cooperation Between The Shanghai Stock Exchange And Hong Kong Exchanges And Clearing
1. The management of the SSE and HKEx exchanged views and discussed their experiences regarding information sharing and cooperation in regulating companies and securities listed in both markets, market infrastructure development, product development, information service development, personnel exchanges, and so forth.
2. Both sides agreed to strengthen information sharing and cooperation in regulating companies and securities listed in both markets. With an increase in A+H share listings, as well as the development of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) on A shares and ETFs on Hong Kong stocks, closer ties between the Shanghai and Hong Kong markets have been fostered. The SSE’s Company Management Department and HKEx’s Listing Division will set up a mechanism for regular exchanges, in order to more effectively regulate enterprises and securities listed in both markets and better protect shareholder interests. An exchange of views will be held every two months, focusing on the operational issues in the regulation of securities listed in both markets and related information disclosure issues. The two organisations will take turns organising the meeting. The same mechanism may be extended to other departments, if proved effective.
3. Both sides agreed to strengthen exchanges and cooperation regarding technology that supports business development. Information technology development, particularly the development of trading and information dissemination systems, is crucial to the stock exchange business. Exchanges and cooperation on technology issues between the two organisations can deepen mutual understanding of the merits of each market’s infrastructure and help further the markets’ business development. The Shanghai and Hong Kong exchanges have their own technological advantages. The SSE’s new generation trading system has cutting edge technology and advanced capacity, while HKEx’s systems support trading, clearing and information dissemination for a variety of products. There is ample room for the technology personnel of both organisations to share expertise, and explore possible ways to develop the respective technology support infrastructure to accommodate further and broader cooperation between the two markets.
4. Both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in respect of the development of products. ETFs have become the starting point of the two organisations’ cooperation on product development. At present, several Mainland fund management companies are actively making preparations for the issue of ETFs related to Hong Kong stocks. It is hoped future cooperation on ETFs will be extended on a gradual basis to the development of ETFs on bonds and gold, as well as cross listings. Besides ETFs, the two organisations may seek further cooperation in products such as securitised assets, warrants, Callable Bull/Bear Contracts and options. The two organisations jointly participated in a forum on ETF market development last year and agreed to hold a forum in similar format on listed structured products later this year.
5. Both organisations agreed to deepen cooperation in the development of information products. For example, cooperation in compiling an index comprising securities listed in Shanghai and Hong Kong may be explored to increase the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges’ influence in the global market.
6. Both organisations support continued exchanges and training involving their personnel. The management of the two organisations agreed to meet twice a year to review the progress of exchanges and training, and work out plans for the next year’s exchanges and training. The two organisations will take turns organising the meeting. Training may take the form of meetings during which each side will be briefed on the other side’s market development, or short educational visits to each other’s offices. Last year, the two organisations arranged for their executives to train in each other’s related departments, and agreed to continue the activities.
* The original is in Chinese. This is an English translation. If you are looking for a particuliar article and can not find it, please feel free to contact us
Source: Aram Flores and Shan Lan -DB Index Research
January 26, 2010--The Osaka Securities Exchange will list Japan's first exchange-traded funds tracking domestic commodities markets next month, the Tokyo Commodity Exchange said on Tuesday.
TOCOM said the move is expected to help bolster activity in domestic commodities markets by providing new investment opportunities in commodities futures.
Source: MineWeb
January 26, 2010--Standard & Poor’s lowered its assessment of Japan’s fiscal health Tuesday, threatening a credit rating cut if the economy stays weak and debt remains sky high.
In a surprise move, S&P affirmed the country’s “AA” long-term debt rating but revised its outlook to “negative” from “stable.”
Source: Todays Zaman
January 26, 2010--Tokyo Commodity Exchange, Inc. (“TOCOM” ) announced today that two Exchange Traded Funds (ETF), which invest directly in its gold futures contract and its platinum futures contract respectively, have been approved for listing on the Osaka Securities Exchange on February 15, 2010. These are the first Japanese ETFs which invest directly in the Japanese commodity futures market.
The ETF investing in the gold futures contract is set up and managed by Mizuho Asset Management Co. Ltd., and tracks the settlement price of gold futures in the back contract month (however, for the rollover, the new back contract month will only be tracked on and after the first business day of the month following the day on which it was generated). The other ETF investing in the platinum futures contract is set up and managed by Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd., and tracks the performance of the Nikkei-TOCOM Platinum Index.
Source: Tokyo Commodity Exchange, Inc. (“TOCOM” )
January 25, 2010--The Tokyo Stock Exchange will calculate and publish a new dividend yield-focused index called "Tokyo Stock Exchange Dividend Focus 100 Index" to satisfy the diverse needs for stock price indices in the market.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange Dividend Focus 100 Index is an index which places focus on the estimated dividend yields of its constituent issues. The index will be made up of the top 100 issues (90 stocks, 10 REITs) which have large market capitalization and high estimated dividend yield, out of constituent issues of the TOPIX 1000 and Tokyo Stock Exchange REIT Index.
Source: Tokyo Stock Exchange
January 22, 2010--With regard to the “Draft Blueprint for the Development of Institutional Frameworks,” which was published on December 17, 2009, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) held meetings to exchange opinions with market participants and others and received a number of opinions. The FSA also invited opinions through its website, resulting in a total of 163 opinions being received from 43 individuals and groups.
Drawing upon these opinions, the FSA compiled the following “Development of Institutional Frameworks Pertaining to Financial and Capital Markets.” Thank you for your cooperation.
Source: Financial Services Agency, The Japanese Government
January 22, 2010--1.The following regulatory measures on short selling are currently in place, with regard to all listed stocks in Japan:
3) Request the exchanges to make daily announcements on their aggregate price of short selling regarding all securities and aggregate price of short selling by sector (The announcements have been made sequentially since October 14, 2008). (See the FSA press release on October 14, 2008.)
Source: Financial Services Agency, The Japanese Government
January 21, 2010--Market Overview
There are 201 equity based ETFs in the Asia Pacific region with 266 listings across 12 countries and 15 exchanges. Japan has the largest market share by AUM accounting for 40.23% of the whole market, whilst China has the largest market share by turnover with 50.51%.
There were seven new listings in the last week. db x-trackers listed six new ETFs in Singapore Stock Exchange followed by Credit Suisse AM which listed one new bond ETF in Korea Stock Exchange.
Turnover
Monthly average daily turnover rose 4.1% in the last week. Turnover for the previous week was USD 926m. The largest ETF by turnover was the China 50 ETF issued by China Asset Management with USD 289m accounting for 31.2% of total turnover.
AUM rose 1.8% in the previous week. AUM as of Jan 18th were USD 63.9bn. The largest ETF by AUM is the TOPIX ETF managed by Nomura Asset Management with AUM of USD 6.3bn.
Source: Aram Flores and Shan Lan -DB Index Research
January 21, 2010--According to an agreement on closer cooperation between the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) signed in January 2009, the management of the two organisations will meet on a regular basis to promote continued close cooperation to further mutual development and prosperity and contribute to the country’s economy.
The management of the SSE and HKEx met in Hong Kong on 21 January 2010. The following joint statement was issued after the meeting.
Source: Asia ETrader
