FiNETIK – Asia and Latin America – Market News Network

Asia and Latin America News Network focusing on Financial Markets, Energy, Environment, Commodity and Risk, Trading and Data Management

November 12, 2009 • 10:37 am 0

Global warming threat for Asia financial hubs – Yangtze ‘facing climate threat’

The report, produced by WWF, the environmental pressure group, puts the two financial hubs in the top 10 cities threatened by climate change in Asia, the region widely believed to be most vulnerable to rising global temperatures.

It warns that Hong Kong is in danger from higher sea levels, which are likely to rise 40cm-60cm in China’s Pearl River delta by 2050, increasing the area of coastline that is vulnerable to flooding by up to six times.

Costs imposed by typhoons are also likely to rise dramatically, the report says, noting that 14 of the 21 extreme storm surges between 1950 and 2004 occurred after 1986.

The number of nights when Hong Kong temperatures rise above 28°C has risen almost fourfold since the 1960s, while the number of winter nights when the temperature falls below 12°C is predicted to fall from an average of 21 to zero within 50 years.

For Singapore, the report says, the sea level is forecast to rise by 60cm by the end of the century, eroding coastal protection and decreasing the shoreline of the city state, making it more vulnerable to storm surges and flooding.

The report says climate change could also increase the prevalence of dengue fever. The number of cases has been rising in periodic outbreaks and the last significant peak, in 2007, saw the third highest number of outbreaks ever.

Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital, heads the list of the most vulnerable cities, mainly because of its position in a big river delta already subject to periodic flooding, its low average height above sea level and its poverty, which makes protection and adaptation more difficult.

Other cities at risk include Jakarta and Manila, which rank equal second, Calcutta and Phnom Penh, which are equal third, Ho Chi Minh and Shanghai, equal fourth, Bangkok, fifth, and Kuala Lumpur, which ties with Hong Kong and Singapore for sixth place.

The report calls on developed countries to agree to shoulder the bulk of the costs required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to finance an adaptation fund to pay for changes required in developing countries, and to provide recompense for losses and damage caused by climate-related catastrophes.

However, the report also says that vulnerable cities and national governments should take action themselves, including better management of coastal habitats and ecosystems.

The report is timed to influence the 21 heads of government attending this week’s Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in Singapore, before the global climate change summit in Copenhagen next month.

Source: FT, 11.11 2009 by Kevin Brown in Singapore

The Yangtze river basin is being increasingly affected by extreme weather and its ecosystems are under threat, environmentalists say.

In a new report, WWF-China says the temperature in the basin area of China’s longest river has risen steadily over the past two decades.

This has led to an increase in flooding, heat waves and drought.

Further temperature rises will have a disastrous effect on biodiversity in and along the river, the report says.

The WWF – formerly known as the World Wildlife Fund – predicts that in the next 50 years temperatures will go up by between 1.5C and 2C.

The group’s report is the largest assessment yet of the impact of global warming on the Yangtze River Basin, where about 400 million people live.

Data was collected from 147 monitoring stations. The report’s lead researcher, Xu Ming, said the forthcoming Copenhagen negotiations on climate change would have an obvious and direct influence on the Yangtze.

“Controlling the future emissions of greenhouse gases will benefit the Yangtze river basin, at the very least from the perspective of drought and water resources,” he said.

The report says the predicted weather events and temperature rises will lead to declines in crop production, and rising sea levels will make coastal cities such as Shanghai vulnerable.

Some of the problems could be averted by strengthening river reinforcements, and switching to hardier crops, its authors suggest.

Source: BBC, 10.11.2009

Filed under: Asia, China, Energy & Environment, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, News, Risk Management, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

• 12:59 am 0

The Definitive Brazilian Private Equity Guide: Part I

With all of the media surrounding the opportunities found in Brazil, TriCap Partners have created the a condensed guide, “Everything You Need to Know About Brazilian Private Equity” Part I.

Register here to download the special report for free

 

Challenges for Successful Private Equity Investments in Brazil

Someone forgot to tell Brazil that we’re in the middle of the worst global recession in history.

Brazil is quickly becoming a political and economic leader in Latin America and the world. As with the rest of the global economy, Brazil entered into a recessionary period in 2009, but economic data that have been emerging from the Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (“IBGE”) increasingly point to a stabilization in the economy, further suggesting that the country has perhaps been less impacted than other markets in this global recession. After the 4.4% quarter-on-quarter decline in 4Q08 and a subsequent 3.5% decline in 1Q09, the country’s GDP reached US$417.8 billion at 2Q09, up 5.2% from the prior quarter, and projected GDP growth for the second half of 2009 is running at about 4.0% or even higher (see Figure 1).

Many economists point to Brazil’s changing trade patterns as an important shield from the global recession as this year, for the first time, China overtook the United States to become Brazil’s single biggest trading partner. In addition, as copper and oil prices have remained relatively strong, Brazil’s commodity-based economy continues to demonstrate strong expansionary growth, and consumer spending, up 2.1% in 2Q09, represented the 23rd consecutive quarter of growth. Any PhD in economics can tell you, in technical terms, that this is ginormous.

Filed under: BM&FBOVESPA, Brazil, Exchanges, Latin America, Library, News, Risk Management , , , , , , , , , , , ,

November 11, 2009 • 11:37 pm 1

Thomson Reuters Faces EU Probe of RIC Data Code Issues

Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) — Thomson Reuters Corp., the news and data provider created in a merger last year, faces a European Union antitrust probe into possible restrictions on competitors’ use of identification codes for real-time market data feeds.

Bloomberg provided free access to it’s code just a few days ago.

The probe will focus on whether Thomson Reuters prevents clients from translating Reuters instrument codes  (RIC’s) to alternative identification codes of rival data-feed suppliers, a process known as “mapping,” the European Commission, the EU’s antitrust regulator, said in a statement today from Brussels.

“Without the possibility of such mapping, customers may potentially be ‘locked’-in to working with Thomson Reuters because replacing Reuters instrument codes by reconfiguring or by rewriting their software applications can be a long and costly procedure,” the commission said.

The probe is the EU’s second into financial information providers this year after the regulator said in January that it would review how Standard & Poor’s charges customers for the use of certain codes in databases. Thomson Reuters said last week that third-quarter profit dropped 59 percent on declining revenue at its sales and trading business and legal division.

Thomson Reuters said in a statement that it received an EU questionnaire Nov. 3 and is cooperating with the probe.

“Thomson Reuters data is reliably and consistently identified by a managed code, which we create and maintain to enable navigation of the company’s global content,” the New York-based company said in the e-mailed statement. “Our customers are at the heart of our business and we continue to work with them to explore how best to add value to our data services.”

The commission said it started the probe on its own initiative. Under EU rules, companies can be fined as much as 10 percent of annual sales for antitrust violations. Companies can appeal antitrust decisions at EU courts.

Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News, competes with Thomson Reuters in selling financial and legal information and trading systems.

Source: Bloomberg 10.11.2009 by  Matthew Newman in Brussels

Filed under: Data Management, Data Vendor, Market Data, News, Reference Data, Risk Management, Standards , , , , , , , , , ,

• 4:48 am 0

Why China and Japan Need an East Asia Bloc

Withering exports and asset bubbles have forced Asians – especially China and Japan — to work harder at free trade pacts.

All kinds of proposals have been floated about creating an Asian bloc a la European Union. Bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements (FTA) have been suggested for various combinations of Asian countries. Lately, there’s been a flurry of new ideas as Japan’s recently installed DPJ government seeks to differentiate from the ousted LDP.

By promoting ideas that lean toward Asia, DPJ’s leadership is signaling that Japan wants less dependence on the United States. This position offers a hope for the future to Japanese people, whose economy has been comatose for two decades. Closer integration with Asian neighbors could restore growth in Japan.

Whenever global trade gets into trouble, Asian countries talk about regional cooperation as an alternative growth driver. But typically these talks die out as soon as global trade recovers. Today’s chatter is following the same old pattern, although this time global trade is not on track to recover to previous levels and sustain East Asia’s export model. Thus, some sort of regional integration is needed to revive regional growth.

Which regional organization is in a position to lead an integration movement? Certainly not ASEAN, which is too small, nor APEC, which is too big. Something more is needed – like a bloc rooted in a trade pact between Japan and China.

ASEAN’s members are 10 countries in Southeast Asia with a population exceeding 600 million and a combined GDP of US$ 1.5 trillion in 2008. The group embraced an FTA process called AFTA in 1992, which accelerated after the 1997-’98 Asian Financial Crisis and competition with China heated up. When AFTA began, few gave it much chance for success, given the region’s huge disparities in per capita income and economic systems. Today AFTA is almost a reality, which is certainly a miracle.

ASEAN has succeeded beyond its wildest dreams. These days China, Japan, and South Korea join annual meetings as dialogue partners, while the European Union and United States participate in regional forums and bilateral discussions.

China and ASEAN completed FTA negotiations last year, demonstrating that they can function as an economic bloc. Now, China is ASEAN’s third largest trading partner. Indeed, there is a great upside for economic cooperation between the two.

Before the Asian Financial Crisis, the ASEAN region was touted as a “miracle” by international financial institutions for maintaining high GDP growth rates for more than two decades. But some of that growth was built on a bubble that diverted business away from production and toward asset speculation. This developed after credit expansion, driven by the pegging of regional currencies to the U.S. dollar, encouraged land speculation. ASEAN’s emerging economies absorbed massive cross-border capital due to a weak dollar, which slumped after the Federal Reserve responded to a U.S. banking crisis in the early 1990s by maintaining low interest rates.

Back then, I visited companies in the region that produced goods for export. I found that, despite all the talk of miracles, many were making money on financial games — not business. At that time, China was building an export sector that had started exerting downward pressure on tradable goods prices. Instead of focusing on competitiveness, the region hid behind a financial bubble and postponed a resolution. Indeed, ASEAN’s GDP was higher than China’s before the Asian financial crunch; now China’s GDP is three times ASEAN’s.

China today faces challenges similar to those confronting ASEAN before the crisis. While visiting manufacturers in China, I’ve often been discovering that their profits come from property development, lending or outright speculation. While asset prices rise, these practices are effectively subsidizing manufacturing operations – an asset game that can work wonderfully in the short term, as the U.S. experience demonstrates. When property and stock markets are worth more than twice GDP, 20 percent appreciation would be equivalent to four years of business profits in a normal economy. You can’t blame businesses for shifting their attention to the asset game in a bubbly environment. Yet as they focus on finance rather than manufacturing, their competitiveness erodes. And you know where that leads.

I digress from the main focus for this article — regional integration, not China’s bubble challenge.

So let’s look again at ASEAN’s success. In part, this reflects its soft image: Other major players do not view ASEAN as a competitive threat. Rather, the FTA with China has put pressure on majors such as India and Japan to pursue their own FTAs with ASEAN. Another dimension is that the region’s annual meetings have become important occasions for representatives from China, Japan and South Korea to sit down together.

In contrast to ASEAN’s success, APEC has been an abject failure.
Today, it’s simply a photo opportunity for leaders of member countries from the Americas, Oceania, Russia and Asia. APEC was set up after the Soviet bloc collapsed, and served a psychological purpose during the post-Cold War transition. It was reassuring for the global community to see leaders of former enemy countries shaking hands.

However, APEC is just too big and diverse to provide a foundation for building a trade structure. So general is the scope that anything APEC members agree upon would probably pass the United Nations. Now, two decades after end of the Cold War, APEC has clearly outlived its usefulness and is withering, although it may never shut down. APEC’s annual summit still offers leaders of member countries a venue for meetings on the sidelines to discuss bilateral issues. Maybe the group is useful in this way, offering an efficient venue for multiple summits concurrently.

Although ASEAN has succeeded with its own agenda, and achieved considerable success in relation to non-member countries, it clearly cannot assume the same role as the European Union. Besides, should Asia have an EU-like organization? Asia, by definition, clearly cannot. It’s a geographic region that includes the sub-continent, Middle East and central Asia. Any organization that encompasses Asia as a whole would be as unwieldy as APEC.

I am always puzzled by the word “Asia,” which the Greeks coined. In his classic work Histories, it seems ancient Greek historian Herodotus primarily referred to Asia Minor — today’s Turkey, and perhaps Syria — as Asia. I haven’t read much Greek, but I don’t recall India being included in ancient Greek references. So as far as I can determine, there is no internal logic to treating Asia as a region. It seems to encompass all places that are neither European nor African. Africa is a coherent continent, and Europe has a shared cultural past. Asia belongs to neither, so it shouldn’t be considered an organic entity.

Malaysia’s former prime minister Tun Mahathir bin Mohamad Mahathir was a strong supporter of an East Asia Economic Caucus (EAEC) which would have been comprised of ASEAN nations plus China, Japan and South Korea. But because Japan refused to participate in an organization that excluded the United States, the idea failed.

Yet there is some logic to Mahathir’s proposal. East Asia has a shared history, and intra-regional trade goes back centuries. Population movements have been significant, and as tourism takes off, regional relations should strengthen. One could envision a future marked by free-flowing capital, goods and labor in the region.

Yet differences among the region’s countries are much greater than in Europe. ASEAN’s overall per capita income is US$ 2,000, while it’s US$ 3,500 in China and US$ 40,000 in Japan. China, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam share Confucianism and Mahayana Buddhism, while most Southeast Asian countries embrace Islam or Hinayana Buddhism, and generally are more religious. I think an EU-like organization in East Asia would be very hard to establish, but something less restrictive would be possible.

Because Japan turned down Mahathir’s EAEC idea, there was a lot of interest when recently elected Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s proposed something similar – an East Asia Community — at a recent ASEAN summit. Hatoyama failed to clarify the role of the United States in any such organization. If the United States is included, it would not fly, as it would be too similar to APEC. Nor could such an organization be like the EU. But if Japan is fully committed, the new group could assume substance over time.

The Japanese probably proposed the community idea for domestic political reasons. Yet the fundamental case for Japan to increase integration with the rest of Asia and away from the United States grows stronger every day. Despite high per capita income, Japan remains an export-oriented economy, having missed an opportunity to develop a consumption-led economy in the 1980s and ’90s. In the foolish belief that rising property prices would spread wealth beyond the industrial heartland in the Tokyo-Osaka corridor, the government of former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka pursued a high-price land policy, discouraging the middle class from pursuing a consumer lifestyle as they saved for property purchases.

Even more seriously, high property prices have been a major reason for Japan’s rapidly declining birth rate, as land prices inflated living costs. Now, facing a declining population and public debt twice GDP, Japan has few options for rejuvenating the economy by promoting domestic demand. It needs trade if it hopes to achieve any growth at all. Without growth, Japan will sooner or later suffer a public debt crisis.

Japan’s property experience offers a major lesson for China. Every Chinese city is copying the Hong Kong model — raising money from an increasingly expensive land market to fund urban development, leading to rapid urbanization. But this is borrowing growth from the future. Rising land prices lead to rising costs and, hence, slower growth and the same rapid decline in the birth rate that Japan experienced. Unless China reverses its high-land price policy, the consequences will be even more disastrous than in Japan or Hong Kong, as China shifted to the asset game much earlier in its development.

Yet I digress again. The point is that Japan has a strong and genuine case that favors more integration with East Asia. The United States is unlikely to recover soon and with enough strength to feed Japan’s export machine again. There is no more room for fiscal stimulus. Devaluing the yen to gain market share is not an option as long as Washington pursues a weak dollar policy. Without a new source of trade, Japan’s economy is doomed. Closer integration with East Asia is the only way out.

In addition to Hatoyama’s EAC proposal, a study jointly sponsored by China, Japan and South Korea is considering the possibility of a FTA. Of course, ASEAN could offer a template for any new East Asian bloc. ASEAN has signed an FTA with China and is talking with Japan and South Korea. If they all sign, regional integration would be halfway completed.

Whatever proposals for East Asian integration, the key issue is a possible FTA between China and Japan. Adding other parties avoids this main issue. China and Japan together are six times ASEAN’s size and 10 times South Korea’s. Without a China-Japan FTA, no combination in East Asia would truly support regional integration.

Five years ago, I wrote an op-ed piece for the Financial Times entitled China and Japan: Natural Partners. At the time, a prevailing sentiment was that China and Japan were antithetical: Both were still manufacturing export-led economies and could only gain at the other’s expense. I saw complementary demographics and capital: Japan had a declining labor force and China needed to employ tens of millions of youths migrating to cities from the countryside. China needed capital and Japan had surplus capital. And their trade relations indeed tightened, as Japan had increased the Chinese share of its overall trade to 17.4 percent in 2008 from 10.4 percent in ‘04.

Today, the situation has changed. China has a capital surplus rather than a shortage. Demographic complementarity is still good and could last another decade. As China shifts its development model from resource intensive to environmentally friendly, a new complementarity is emerging. Japan has already made the transition, and its technologies that supported the transition need a new market such as China’s. So even without a new trade agreement, bilateral trade will continue growing.

An FTA between China and Japan would significantly accelerate their trade, resulting in an efficiency gain of more than US$ 1 trillion. Japan’s aging population lends urgency to increasing the investment returns. On the other hand, as China prepares to make a numerical commitment to limiting greenhouse gas emissions at the upcoming Copenhagen summit on global warming, heavy investment and rapid restructuring are needed for its economy. Japanese technology could come in quite handy.

More importantly, a China-Japan FTA would lay a foundation for an East Asian free trade bloc. The region has a population of 2.1 billion and a GDP of US$ 13 trillion, rivaling the European Union and United States. Blessed with a low base, plenty of capital, sound technology and a huge market, the region’s GDP could easily double in a decade.

Trade and technology are twin engines of growth and prosperity. No boom is sustained without one or the other. And when they come together, the boom can be massive. Prosperity seen over the past decade, for example, is due to information technology along with the opening up of China and other former planned economies. But these factors have been absorbed, forcing the world to find another engine. An integration of East Asian economies would be significant enough to play this role.

The best approach would be for China and Japan to negotiate a comprehensive FTA that encompasses free-flowing goods, services and capital. This task may appear too difficult, but recent changes have made it possible. The two countries should give it a try.

It would be wrong to begin by working out an FTA that includes China, Japan and South Korea. That would triple the task’s level of difficulty, especially since South Korea doesn’t have a meaningful FTA with any country. To imagine that the Seoul government would cut a deal with China or Japan is naive. China and Japan should negotiate bilaterally.

A key issue is that China and Japan should put economics before politics. If the DPJ government wants to gain popularity by increasing international influence rather than boosting the economy, then all the current speculation and discussion about an East Asia bloc would be for nothing. But if DPJ wants to sustain power by rejuvenating Japan’s moribund economy, chances for a deal are good.

While Japan is talking, China should be doing. China should aggressively initiate the FTA process with Japan. Regardless of China’s current difficulties, its growth potential and vast market are what Japan will never have at home nor anywhere else. Hence, China would be able to compromise from a position of strength.

Some may say a free trade area for East Asia is beyond reach. However, history belongs to the daring. The world has changed enough to make it possible. China and Japan should seize the opportunity.

Source: Caijing, 10.11.2009 by Andy Xie, guest economist to Caijing and a board member of Rosetta Stone Advisors Ltd.

Full article in Chinese

Filed under: Asia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, News, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

• 1:43 am 0

ChiNext: A Wrongheaded, Sheltered Start

The lesson from the ChiNext launch is as old as China’s stock market: Too much regulatory protection leads to speculation.

(Caijing Magazine) China’s growth enterprise board ChiNext recently opened after 10 years in the making. Hopes ran high, and trading sizzled. But the debut quickly led to disappointment, recalling the now-sputtering Shenzhen SME board, which began with a dramatic flash but eventually cast a pall over growth stock trading.

Shares for all 28 companies on the ChiNext board skyrocketed to the 10 percent limit on opening day. Shares in Jinya Technology, for example, surged 80 percent in a buying frenzy. Overall, first-day gains averaged 106 percent.

But it was a flash in the pan, unchecked by regulator warnings and a fat book of regulatory measures designed to prevent speculation. Within a few days, prices tumbled. Suddenly, ChiNext was nothing more than a new game in town that pulled players into the same kind of mania seen a couple of years ago when PetroChina A-shares reached the stratosphere in an IPO and when stock warrants had manipulated, rollercoaster price changes. Moreover, some of the 28 newly tradable companies became subjects of critical media stories about instant wealth, overselling of pre-IPO shares by management, and cases of cooking the books.

How did this newborn trading platform, so carefully planned and nurtured through a long gestation, fall captive to the old, genetic flaws of China’s stock markets? A crucial factor was excessive protection.

A successful growth enterprise board is not just a capital-raising platform; start-ups are far more valuable than blue chips in many ways. ChiNext was designed to encourage start-ups and new technology companies. It should be in a position to help traders pan for gold and turn ugly ducklings into swans.

But ChiNext was never given enough room to let the market play its resource allocation role. In the first place, IPOs for ChiNext still had to go through a government authorization process. Each of the 28 companies was chosen by regulators from among hundreds of applicants. This review process, which is based on company documents provided to the government rather than through public information disclosure, may look like accountability in the eyes of investors. But it actually restricts market selectivity.

The selection process was designed to signal that each of the 28 companies had a good chance for survival. So after giving permission to this first batch of companies for board trading, regulators suspended review of new applications for a month and concentrated on the ChiNext launch. Media euphoria and promotion activity by energetic brokers further diluted any sense of risk awareness among the trading public.

Yet such artificial control of supply and demand distorts the market. And this is nothing new. Past experience has shown that it’s futile in such circumstances to prevent volatility through regulation and investor warnings following an application process.

Moreover, speculation fire was fanned by murky delisting requirements. Regulations covering growth enterprise stocks on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, which sponsors ChiNext, say companies should be warned before being delisted. The exchange, however, can rescind a warning if a company implements a “restructuring plan.” This means that, despite the rule for delisting start-ups, the exchange still leaves a back door open to creating shell companies – and attracting punters – by allowing restructuring. Such loose market conditions help whip up speculative frenzy.

Of course, conditions are similar on the A-share main board. Excessive protection stems from a regulatory intent to list quality companies and inject vitality into the market. And in the area of delisting, strict enforcement is out of the question because regulators feel compelled to bow to public sentiment and give any shaky company another chance in the name of investor protection.

However, this protection oversteps the bounds and chokes market vitality. It will surely backfire. Regulators have created conditions for rent-seeking by listed companies, which then turns investors into speculators.

Success for ChiNext should depend on several big-picture factors including growth potential, investment environment and rule of law in society. Regulators can not and should not guarantee financial results and return on investment; they should not set goals for market size and trading volume. Otherwise, even perfect schemes would be hijacked by powerful interests under the banner of protecting investor interests.

Ensuring healthy development of the market is the duty of the China Securities Regulatory Commission as well as stock exchange operators. But their jobs should focus on making and implementing rules, not making market choices. They should concern themselves with improving the trading system, watching interest groups, ensuring adequate information disclosure, penalizing offenders, and educating investors. These tasks, ranging from the minute to critical issues for certain interest groups, can be easily overlooked. They should not.

In the international arena, successful growth enterprise boards are rare and their development paths are strewn with obstacles. China, as the world’s largest emerging economy, has no shortage of innovative ideas. And the market is active indeed. What China lacks, however, is a system that ensures healthy market function. The less-than-perfect inauguration of ChiNext should sound an alarm for regulators. It is not too late to take corrective action.

Source: Cajing, 10.11.2009 By Hu Shuli

Filed under: Asia, China, Exchanges, News, Risk Management , , , , , , , , ,

November 10, 2009 • 10:50 am 1

Bursa Malaysia introduces Direct Market Access for Equities Marke

Bursa Malaysia today introduced Direct Market Access (DMA) for the equities market which is aimed to enhance trading efficiency and accessibility for market participants. With this, the Exchange will be providing a complete DMA infrastructure for both the equities and derivatives markets. The DMA for derivatives market was successfully launched in April 2008.

Bursa Malaysia Berhad’s Chief Executive Officer, Dato’ Yusli Mohamed Yusoff said, “DMA is a critical component for Bursa Malaysia to remain competitive in the global investment arena. We are committed to investing in the right technologies to promote market accessibility and liquidity, as well as increased trading efficiencies. This will enable us to meet the requirement for growth and alignment with international trading practices.”

“We are confident that similar to our experience with DMA derivatives, DMA equities will attract new segment of trading participation given its increased accessibility and low latency. Market participants will also be able to enjoy greater connectivity and more control of their orders via the DMA infrastructure for equities market,” he added.

The benefits of DMA:

  • It is a ‘zero-touch electronic trading’ solution which enables investors to route orders directly to the Exchange for immediate execution.
  • It will significantly reduce the time for orders to be sent and matched from the previous average of three (3) seconds per transaction to a fraction of a second.
  • It has the ability to support algorithmic and block trading which allows institutional investors greater control through using pre-determined order conditions.
  • It provides greater access to international investors as Bursa Malaysia allows ‘Sponsored Access’ for institutional investors.
  • It enables market participants to connect their own trading front-end to the Financial Information Exchange (FIX) DMA Gateway.
  • It allows market participants to install their own servers in the Exchange’s data centre through the co-location hosting service where faster order management can be processed and lower latency when trading.

For further information and details on DMA Equities, please contact Bursa Malaysia via email at DMA@bursamalaysia.com

Source: Bursa Malaysia, 09.11.2009

Filed under: Asia, Data Management, Exchanges, FIX Connectivity, Malaysia, Market Data, News, Trading Technology , , , , , , , , , ,

• 10:45 am 0

NYSE Technologies extends Superfeed™ Market Data Coverage to Asian Markets

NYSE Technologies, the commercial technology unit of NYSE Euronext (NYX) and a world leader in trading technology and low-latency market data solutions, is actively expanding its SuperFeed™ product suite to Asian markets. SuperFeed™ is NYSE Technologies’ fully managed and hosted data ticker plant, with microsecond latency and coverage of major markets in North America, Europe, and now Asia. SuperFeed™ Asia currently provides access to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s Price Reporting System (PRS) derivatives feed and Market Data Feed (MDF) cash feed via its Hong Kong data centre, with plans to expand to other major Asia-Pacific markets in 2010.

“SuperFeed™ is one of our most comprehensive and flexible market data products globally, delivering microsecond latency over high performance middleware,” said Peter Tierney, Managing Director, Asia-Pacific, NYSE Technologies. “The addition of major Asia markets complements existing offerings in US and Europe, and allows sophisticated international traders to receive data from all the key global markets through a normalized and managed feed.”

“We’re pleased to see the expansion of NYSE Technologies’ SuperFeed™ product into Asia, a region becoming increasingly attractive to our high frequency trading clients,” said Nigel Kneafsey, CEO at Options IT, a leading provider of high-performance technology infrastructure as a service and ultra-low latency market connectivity for hedge funds, proprietary trading shops and brokerages. “Our clients leveraging SuperFeed™ in the U.S. and Europe will surely see value in leveraging the same application in Asia.”

NYSE Technologies’ customers can obtain direct connectivity to the SuperFeed™ Asia service from the Options IT facilities in Hong Kong. The service is already live with a large global trading firm and under evaluation by several others.

Source: MondoVisione, 09.11.2009

Filed under: Asia, Data Management, Data Vendor, Exchanges, Hong Kong, Market Data, News, Trading Technology , , , , , , , , , ,

• 4:15 am 0

China: ChiNext less then 10% of Accounts active

About 9.6 million investors have opened trading accounts on ChiNext, the growth enterprise market that launched on Oct. 30, but only 920,000 have started trading, Yao Gang, vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said on Friday. Many account holders are still cautious about investing, Yao said during a broadcast on the central government website.

Source: Caijing, 09.11.2009

Filed under: Asia, China, Exchanges, News , , , , , ,

• 1:41 am 0

Energy: Don’t Believe Long-Term Oil Forecasts

On 4 October 2009, The Wall Street Journal ran an article World Need for Oil Expected to Ease (subscription might be required), where the author, Spencer Swartz, wrote:

The International Energy Agency next week will make a “substantial” downward revision to its long-term forecast for global oil demand, a person familiar with the matter said, marking the second year running the group has slashed its view of the world’s thirst for oil.

If demand pessimists are correct, future increases in the price of crude could be damped as weaker consumption stretches world oil supply by billions of barrels. Various analyst estimates maintain that the roughly 2% a year average growth rate in world oil consumption seen earlier this decade — the biggest reason for crude prices hitting a record $147 a barrel last year — may turn out to be an anomaly and that annual growth in the neighborhood of 0.5% to 1% is more the norm.

The reality is that no one knows what the long term future holds. The IEA itself struggles with the Bull versus Bear oil outlook. Ask yourself, how many pundits foresaw the mess we are in now and anticipated the dramatic easing of oil demand?

Sure, one can gather relevant information and make a reasonable guess as to oil demand next year and the year after that. But after five years, the potential paths of demand growth become unwieldy. How will economic growth be sustained over the next five years? Will the OECD countries lag emerging countries? Will China and the rest of Asia power ahead and create substantial demand? If Asian countries do power ahead and create many millions of middle class citizens, will they demand their own vehicles and tickets on jet planes to see the world? Will Brazil and other South American countries enjoy strong economic growth? Will the Middle East be stable over this period? Will Iraq resume its full production capabilities? As you see, one can begin asking any number of questions that are impossible to answer with an accuracy or certainty and that might have a major bearing on demand or supply or both.

What do we know? We know that for a long time, oil prices were usually within $20-$30 real per barrel. Now those prices are laughable. No reasonable person expects the world to return to those prices any time soon. Many major oil fields around the world are in decline. Oil companies are searching in more remote and sometimes more unfriendly regions of the world to develop further existing fields and to discover new fields. And, the rise of oil prices has given new prominence to some national oil companies. A sample list, though incomplete, of companies include: Gazprom OAO (OGZPY.PK), Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., and Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras (PBR).

If we were to accept the 1% annual growth of oil demand mentioned in the WSJ quote for a long duration, what would that mean or imply? A child born tomorrow will see by her seventieth birthday a doubling of daily world oil production from about 85 million barrels per day to 170 million barrels per day. Moreover, during her seventy years, the world will have produced more during that time than the total cumulative amount prior to her birth. Call me a skeptic, but I am unable to see where we would find that much additional oil to produce at such high rates for such a sustained period.

To be clear, neither the article nor the IEA is suggesting that we endure a 1% growth forever. Rather, I wanted to use this seemingly small innocuous number of only 1% growth to draw attention to its implication. If the long term growth were 2%, then in 35 years the daily world oil production would double to 170 million barrels per day and the oil produced during those 35 years would exceed the prior total cumulative amount of oil produced.

I recommend two excellent sources of information to learn more about oil, oil demand, oil prices and various policy initiatives:

  • Statistical Review of World Energy from BP p.l.c. (BP). I found the link to the Adobe pdf document toward to the bottom on its homepage.
  • Monthly Oil Market Report from the International Energy Agency. The link is to the webpage that hosts the document that is released two weeks after the initial release date. Subscribers receive immediate access through a different link.

Both documents are extremely helpful. I find the BP document provides concise information and historical context. The IEA document provides the agency’s latest thinking and forecasts.

As the world struggles to find new sources of oil, there will be dramatic changes. I have already discussed some questions we should ask ourselves as we contemplate future oil demand growth. Of course, many more questions need to be considered. And I have indicated that some national oil companies have gained strength and prominence with higher oil demand and prices. As investors, we should also think about what long term oil demand growth means for oil sands companies such as Suncor Energy, Inc. (SU) and Canadian Oil Sands Trust (COSWF.PK), and for large multinationals such as ConocoPhillips Company (COP), Chevron Corporation (CVX), and Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM).

As demand continues to rise, I am curious what will happen. Will scientific breakthroughs help? How will the world cope with the environmental consequences? How will people adapt to possibly much higher prices? How will countries and regions change because of either having or lacking domestic oil supplies? If the world does experience higher prices, what are the implications for global world trade? And do higher prices imply that people will travel less and have less of an understanding of other regions? These questions are just a small sample of what investors should begin considering.

A few years ago, Professor Bartlett gave a compelling lecture, captured in a series of YouTube videos, to some students at the University of Colorado. In his lecture, he discussed oil demand growth. The lecture starts a bit slow; however, when you reach the latter part of the third video, you’ll see how the prior information is relevant to his discussion on oil. In other words, because they are important, don’t skip the initial video segments and jump to the third. I urge you to watch the complete video series.

And after you’ve watched the videos, ask yourself, “What time is it?” This question will make sense once you’ve seen the videos.

When I initially saw the WSJ article, I was drawn by the long term forecasts. My personal bias is that most longer term things in life are difficult, if not impossible, to forecast with any reasonable degree of accuracy. Then as I read the article, I saw the 1% growth number, which by itself seems very innocuous. But if you think about what 1% growth means over a long and sustained period, you quickly realize there are going to be changes. Moreover, the world has already witnessed a significant shift in oil prices over the last decade. We are no longer in our prior historical norm of $20-$30 per barrel. Some might argue that we are now in unchartered territory. As part of that possible unchartered territory, I wanted you to think about some larger questions. The questions mentioned in this article are just off the top of my head without much thought. I am sure you can think of many more. And last, I wanted to draw your attention to Professor Bartlett’s excellent lecture. His lecture will make you think about oil demand (and others) growth differently. I hope this article causes you to further your own research.

Source: Seeking Alpha, 08.11.2009

Filed under: Brazil, China, Energy & Environment, Mexico, News, Risk Management, Venezuela, Vietnam , , , , , , , , , , ,

November 8, 2009 • 1:46 am 2

Asset Management: Data management is top concern

Markus Ruetimann, chief operating officer at Schroders, expects a growing debate about data and the “acceptance of liabilities” over the next year.

“Our clients want us to cover everything. Whether we do things internally or outsource, that is not their concern – they want us to stand firm if something goes wrong and to cover any losses,” says Mr Ruetimann.

“If the outsourced NAV [net asset value] is wrong and this leads to a loss, our outsource provider would compensate us.

“But what happens when our distributors have another 20,000 unit holders? Where the buck stops is something I think we will hear more about next year.”

The comments come as a growing number of investment firms have outsourced a range of non-core functions, such as fund accounting and risk management, in order to shrink their fixed cost base and turn attention towards their main competencies.

According to figures from Beacon Consulting Group, 31 per cent of managers are reviewing their middle offices, while 36 per cent have reviewed them over the past year.

The result is managers now have to cope with multiple feeds of information – such as data on fund accounting, FX rates and benchmarks – being fed back into their businesses from those providers who manage these functions on their behalf.

Mr Ruetimann says the demand for information from both internal fund managers and clients has “quadrupled” over the past year. “Our clients and managers want information on demand – they want to access it faster and across different jurisdictions.

“A lot of that data is held by our third-party providers and sometimes they struggle with the quality and access to that data,” he says.

“What we have learned with our providers is that we need a clear definition of data flows and what information is hosted by us and our third parties.

“Inevitably, there can be some overlap.”

Dan Watkins, head of European operations at JPMorgan Asset Management, agrees the use of data has become a priority for the industry, particularly with regard to client reporting.

“When you outsource some of your non-core functions, there is a multiple amount of data that is taken back in from those providers.  “Our top priority is having best-in-class client reporting and performance analysis for our clients, and data plays a vital part in that,” says Mr Watkins.

With a heightened emphasis on industry transparency, managers are also under increased pressure to provide clients with detailed reports on procedures they have in place to manage risk, custody and other essential functions that have been outsourced to third parties. “You need to ensure that the quality of data to produce reports is as good as it can be,” says Mr Watkins.

“In conversations I have with people in the industry, more and more managers are turning their attention in this post-outsourced world towards client reporting – this is where managing that data layer comes in.”

The appetite for quality data was highlighted at an industry conference held by consultancy Investit in July. Asked what the highest priority was for managers, 82 per cent cited data management while client reporting was an important focus for 75 per cent.

Asset managers have identified data management as a top priority for operations in what they call a “post-outsourced” landscape.

Some fear that poor handling of information, including how managers aggregate data fed to them from third parties, could lead to disputes with outsource providers over who is responsible for potential losses.

Dave Francis, head of operations at Gartmore, also recognises the growing trend for improved data flows from third-party vendors. “The quality of data is fundamental,” says Mr Francis.

“We make sure that we have the appropriate performance indicators and service level agreements that give a guide to data integrity,” he says.

“There are monthly review schedules and we watch for signs or trends, and whether there is a need to address it or not. By looking at these indicators, it gives us a good idea of what is going on inside the vendor.”

Source: FT 08.11.2009 By David Ricketts

FT.com

Filed under: Corporate Action, Data Management, Data Vendor, Market Data, News, Reference Data, Risk Management, Standards , , , , , , , , ,

• 1:11 am 0

Distressed Market: Cinda Tries a New Trail on Bad Debt Trek

One of China’s major distressed asset managers, Cinda, appears to be ready for reform. But questions – and bad debt – linger.

The news came late, but at least it came. Ministry of Finance sources recently told Caijing that Cinda Asset Management had been approved by the State Council for a pilot project aimed at reforming its business model.

It was a huge step for Cinda, which was founded in 1999 as a state-owned financial asset management company (AMC) for disposing of distressed assets on behalf of the government.

Now a decade old, Cinda plans to continue with its original mission. But the latest approval gives the firm a green light to draft a restructuring plan. Technical details would be reviewed by the State Council, China’s cabinet.

Meanwhile, authorities have started eyeing incentive policies aimed at encouraging Cinda’s evolution as a market-driven financial firm. One potential incentive would let Cinda acquire all debt-equity conversions from China’s three, other major AMCs.

Through another incentive move, it’s also likely that a new company will be created to dispose of about 200 billion yuan in NPLs on behalf of Cinda. And the possibility of inviting strategic investors to join the firm for share reform — and perhaps an IPO – has not been ruled out.

During an October 17 interview with the media including Caijing, China Construction Bank Chairman Guo Shuqing showed an interest in investing in Cinda.

“The hardest thing is evaluation,” Guo said. But on a positive note he added, “It will be a purely a business activity.”

Caijing learned that a final audit report and evaluation paper for the firm will be released around the end of the year which could give further impetus to a new direction for Cinda.

Back in 1999, the government created AMCs — including Cinda, Huarong, China Orient and Great Wall — and gave them 10 years to settle accounts on a combined 1.4 trillion yuan in non-performing assets that had been held by state-owned banks.

They initially obtained a combined 604 billion yuan from the central bank to help with refinancing bad assets, then issued 811 billion yuan in 10-year bonds at a rate of 2.25 percent to China Development Bank as well as four, state-owned banks – CCB, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Bank of China and Agricultural Bank of China.

However, now 10 years later, plenty of work remains. The asset managers face tough decisions in dealing with a lingering mountain of bad loans.

State-owned banks that underwent share reform and restructuring in 2004 used AMCs to dispose of a second pile of bad assets totaling 942 billion yuan. Cinda received 405 billion yuan, Great Wall’s share was 263 billion yuan, Orient took over 250 billion yuan, and Huarong got the smallest chunk worth about 23 billion yuan.

Cinda turned out to be a better performer than the other state-owned asset managers for handling distressed assets. Nevertheless, the firm used almost all its earnings to pay interest on the 10-year bonds.

In September, 10-year bonds totaling 247 billion yuan that CCB issued to Cinda matured. But the bank announced a hold extension of another 10 years for the bonds, as requested by the Ministry of Finance, at a 2.25 percent annual interest rate while the ministry continued to help repay the principal and interest.

Cinda had sought to restructure for years. An obvious hurdle, however, was handling interest payments on bonds and refinancing bad debt assets acquired from state-owned banks. AMCs paid 31.5 billion yuan a year in interest on the bonds, leaving little to supplement their capital base.

Caijing has learned that the finance ministry may grant some preferential policies to Cinda. One would involve relevant debt-to-equity conversion assets from the other three AMCs, which would be allocated to Cinda. These would be comprised of NPLs from state banks and distressed assets from SOEs.

Cinda would have to employ capital market strategies to increase the value of these debt-to-equity assets. That would pave the way for Cinda’s emergence as a main platform for settling these types of assets.

Yet many issues are still unclear. At what price would Cinda acquire these debt-to-equity assets – at a price based on book value or market value? And how might the firm arrange personnel for working with SOEs on these assets? Unless the scheme is carefully thought out, Cinda could end up with no benefits.

Meanwhile, it’s unclear whether the other AMCs will survive separately or combine into a single entity. That decision could come from the State Council, which so far has not indicated any firm direction for transforming AMCs.

One plan being discussed by all parties is that quality assets may be injected into a new company, which in turn could seek to launch an IPO. The 200 billion yuan in non-performing assets would remain the parent, Cinda, while profits generated by the newly listed company could hopefully absorb Cinda’s financial burden gradually.

Meanwhile, AMCs have been busy obtaining a variety of licenses allowing them to offer financial services including securities, financial leasing and trusts. However, only a fraction of these businesses would be actual extensions of distressed asset settlements, the firms’ main business.
Ho Jianhang, vice president of Cinda, told Caijing that the firm “will be consistent with handling non-performing assets settlements and financial firm liquidations. This is Cinda’s core competitiveness.”

China’s non-performing asset market has long been embedded in institutional barriers. When they were established, AMCs were given multiple missions. But these multi-dimensional goals resulted in conflicts that put AMC operations in tough situations.

For example, the task of settling the bad debts of state-owned enterprises and non-performing assets held by state-owned banks is extremely difficult in the context of China’s lack of a social security system and legal shortcomings. AMCs trying to do their job can hardly follow market strategies, as they were told.

In April 2008, the Supreme People’s Court released a new regulation in the form of “conference notes” regarding the transfer of non-performing debt from financial institutions. SOEs and local governments were granted priority in acquiring these NPLs.

The court’s decision may lead to replacing AMCs with SOEs for settling distressed assets. And this means Cinda still faces immense uncertainty while striving for transformation into a market-driven asset manager.

Source: Caijing 06.11.2009 by Zhang  Yuzhe and intern reporter Jiang Zhinan contributed to this article

Filed under: Asia, China, News, Risk Management, Services , , , , , , , , ,

November 7, 2009 • 8:12 am 2

Tokyo Stock Exchange lists Indian ETF – S&P CNX Nifty linked ETF

Today, the Tokyo Stock Exchange approved the listing of the “NEXT FUNDS S&P CNX Nifty Linked Exchange Traded Fund” managed by Nomura Asset Management Co., Ltd.. The ETF is planned to be listed on Thursday, November 26, 2009.

This is the first ETF linked to Indian stocks to be listed on markets in Japan. The “S&P CNX Nifty Index” to which the ETF is linked is comprised of the 50 premier issues of the National Stock Exchange of India.

Code 1678 (ISIN JP3047100007)
Name NEXT FUNDS S&P CNX Nifty Linked Exchange Traded Fund
Fund Administrator Nomura Asset Management
Listing Date November 26, 2009
Trading Unit 100 units
Underlying Index S&P CNX Nifty Index

TSE entered into a memorandum of understanding with the National Stock Exchange of India on October 15, 2006. Through this ETF, TSE hopes to supply investors with better access to the Indian securities market and contribute to the development of the markets in both of our countries.

With this listing there will be a total of 69 ETFs listed on the Tokyo market, bringing us closer to the goal of 100 listed ETFs by fiscal year 2010, as laid out in the Medium-Term Management Plan. TSE will continue working to diversify the ETF market and improve the convenience of our market for all investors.

Additional ETF’s listed in Tokyo include Brazil’s IBOVESPA, China A Share CSI300 as well as  ETC (Exchange Trade Commodities) like Gold, Silver, Platinum and Palladium. See also TSE lists Brazilian ETF.

Tokyo Stock Exchange officel ETF site
 ETFs on TSE November 2009 (.doc and .cvs)

Source: Tokyo Stock Exchange 06.11.2009

Filed under: Asia, Exchanges, India, Japan, News , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

• 5:55 am 0

BM&FBOVESPA market performance- October 2009

  • Bovespa segment sets records in financial volume daily averages, number of trades, Home Broker, and individual investor accounts.
  • In the BM&F segment, Ibovespa futures market surpasses 2 million contracts traded.

In October 2009, equity markets (Bovespa segment) registered historic marks in financial volume daily averages, which totaled BRL 7.34 billion, with 436,250 trades. The October volume was BRL 154.25 billion, with 9,161,252 trades. Home Broker, a web-based equities trading system, set six trading records, and reached its highest trading volume ever with BRL 60.99 billion and the number of individual investor accounts came to 555,768 for the first time.

Derivatives markets in the BM&F segment (including financial and commodities derivatives) totaled 34,670,732 contracts and BRL 2.38 trillion in volume in October. That compares to 31,505,077 contracts and a volume of BRL 2.12 trillion in September. The daily average of contracts in the derivatives markets in October was 1,650,987, compared to 1,500,242 in the previous month. BM&F segment highlight for October was the Ibovespa futures market that jumped from 1,443,420 contracts traded in September, to 2,304,720 traded in October.

BOVESPA Segment (Equities)

Volumes and Trades – Equities, Equities Derivatives and Fixed Income
The Bovespa markets reached a total volume of BRL 154.25 billion in 9,161,252 trades in October, with daily averages of BRL 7.34 billion and 436,250 trades, respectively. In September, total volume reached BRL 114.23 billion in 7,143,911 trades. September daily averages reached BRL 5.43 billion and 340,186 trades.

The most traded stocks in September were: Vale PNA, with BRL 15.05 billion; Petrobrás PN, with BRL 12.77 billion; Itauunibanco PN, with BRL 5.26 billion; BMFBovespa ON , with BRL 5.23 billion; and OGX Petróleo ON, with BRL 5.16 billion.

Indexes
The Ibovespa ended October 0.04% higher at 61,545 points. Best performing stocks were: CCR Rodovias ON (+14.81%); Bradespar PN (+11.81%); Gerdau PN (+10.74%); Vale ON (+9.95%); and TAM S/A PN (+9.78%).Worst performing stocks were: Rossi Resid On (-17.26%); Aracruz PNB(-16.71%); VCP ON (-16.41%); Embraer ON (-12.78%); and BMFBovespa ON (-12.71%).

In addition to the Ibovespa, the following stock exchange indexes also ended September up: IBrX-50 (+0.22% at 8,709 points); IBrX-100 (+0.35% at 19,642 points); ITEL (+0.74% at 1,362 points); INDX (+1.40% at 9,100 points); Small Cap (+2.62% at 993 points); MidLarge Cap (+0.20% at 874 points); and Iconsumo (+1.49% at 1,207 points). The remaining stock exchange indexes ended September down: ISE (-3.56% at 1,701 points); IEE (-1.09% at 22,086 points); IVBX-2 (-0.79% at 5,008 points); IGC (-0.43% at 6,033 points); ITAG (-1.76% at 7,835 points); and Imobiliário (-4.42% at 817 points).

Market Value
Market capitalization of the 387 companies listed on BM&FBOVESPA in October was BRL 2.11 trillion, compared to BRL 2.09 trillion, which represented the 386 companies listed in August.

Special Corporate Governance Levels
The 159 companies that compose BM&FBOVESPA’s special corporate governance levels represented, at the end of September, 64.65% of the market capitalization, 78.83% of trading volume, and 81.87% of the trades in the spot market.

Market Participation
The spot market accounted for 93.3% of total trading volume in September, followed by the options market, with 4.9%, and by the forward market, with 1.8%. The after-market traded BRL 1.66 billion with 124.268 trades, compared to BRL 1.46 billion and 118,653 trades in the previous month.

Investor Participation
In October, foreign investors were responsible for 33.67% of the total volume, compared to 32.70% in September. Individual investors came next, with 30.53%, compared to 31.01%; institutional investors had 24.80%, compared to 25.90%; financial institutions, with 8.99%, compared to 8.20%; companies, with 1.95%, compared to 2.12%; and other types of investors, 0.06%, compared to 0.07%.

Foreign Investment
The net flow of foreign investment into the Brazilian stock market in 2009 as of October 30 is a positive BRL 32.88 billion, which is the combined result of the amount of BRL 13.73 billion in acquisitions carried out by foreign investors in the stock offerings and the positive balance of BRL 19.15 billion in direct trading at BM&FBOVESPA.

In October, the financial volume traded by foreign investors in the stock market is a positive BRL 1.14 billion, which is the net balance between stock sales of BRL 51.13 billion and stock purchases of BRL 52.27 billion.

The foreign investor participation in stock offerings, including IPOs, represented 57.6% of the total BRL 23.84 billion in transactions related to the publication of the closing announcement dates ending on November 4, 2009.

Individual Investors
BM&FBOVESPA ended October with 555,768 individual investor accounts in custody. The stock exchange had 515,506 such accounts in September.

Investment Clubs
BM&FBOVESPA ended August with 2,854 investment clubs and 50 new registrations. Total liquid asset reached BRL 12.31 billion and the number of participants reached 144,049, according to the latest available August data.

Home Broker
In October, trading via Home Broker registered the following records: volume totaled BRL 60.99 billion, compared to BRL 44.20 billion in September; average daily volume reached BRL 2.90 billion, compared to BRL 2.10 billion; total number of trades reached 5,973,285 compared to 4,474,883 in September; the daily average of trades stood at 284,442, in contrast to 213,090; the average amount per transaction totaled BRL 12,813, compared to BRL 10,862 ; participation in the stock market’s total volume in September was 19.80%, compared to 19.40% in August.

The total number of trades reached 32.60%, compared to 31.30%. The number of investors placing orders stood at 249,027, compared to 215,861in September. In October, the number of brokerage firms offering Home Broker was 67, compared to 68 in September.

Securities Lending
The financial volume of stock lending transactions in the Securities Lending Bank (BTC) reached BRL 29.54 billion in October, in comparison to BRL 28.74 billion in September. The total number of trades reached 63.642, compared to 63,477 in the previous month.

Fixed Income
In October, the trading volume for the secondary market, counting both the Bovespa Fix and the Soma Fix, totaled BRL 10.42 million, compared to BRL 66.83 million in September. Of this total, debentures accounted for BRL 4.19 million, Real Estate Receivables Certificates (CRI) accounted for BRL 5.35 million, and Credit Receivables Investment funds (FIDC) accounted for BRL 0.88 million.

ETFs
The financial volume registered in October by the four BM&FBOVESPA Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) reached BRL 537.95 million, in contrast to BRL 557.86 million in September. ETFs BOVA11, SMAL11, MILA11, and PIBB11 registered 7,411 trades. In the previous month, the number of trades was 8,366. ETF BOVA11 reached the highest financial volume in October, with BRL 435.64 million, in comparison to BRL 484.17 in September.

BM&F Segment (Derivatives and Futures)

Derivatives markets in the BM&F segment (including financial and commodities derivatives) totaled 34,670,732 contracts and BRL 2.38 trillion in volume in October. That compares to 31,505,077 contracts and a volume of BRL 2.12 trillion in September. The daily average of contracts traded in the derivatives markets in October was 1,650,987, compared to 1,500,242 in the previous month.

Volumes and Trades – Financial Derivatives
Interest rate futures (ID) totaled in October 12,104,485 contracts traded, in contrast to 12,469,090 in September. The US dollar futures ended the month totaling 7,033,995 contracts compared to 5,959,815 contracts in the previous month. The Ibovespa futures traded 2,304,720 contracts in September, compared to 1,443,420 in the last month. The Euro futures contract (EUR) registered 14,970 contracts, in contrast to 5,330 contracts in August.

Open interest contracts ended the last trading day of October with 21,153,325 positions, compared to 21,993,232 in September.

Volumes and Trades– Agribusiness Derivatives
In October, the BM&FBOVESPA agribusiness derivatives market (including futures and options) totaled 197,101 contracts traded, compared to 151,582 in September. Agribusiness markets totaled 61,356 open interest contracts at the end of the last trading day of October. In September, these contracts totaled 74,238.

Volumes and Trades – Minicontracts
The derivatives market for mini contracts traded 1,334,414 contracts in the month of October, compared to 1,177,213 in September. Of this total, the futures market for Ibovespa mini contracts traded 1,264,865 compared to 1,103,632 contracts in the previous month. Mini U.S. dollar futures traded 68,272 contracts, compared to 72,085 in September. Mini futures contracts ended October with 18,575 open interest contracts, in contrast to 27,498 in the previous month.

Volumes and Trades – Spot Gold
The spot gold market (250 grams) traded, in October, 1.137 contracts, compared to 1.216 contracts in September. Spot gold market volume totaled BRL 16.66 million, compared to BRL 17.70 million in the previous month.

Investor Participation
In October, financial institutions led derivatives trading (BM&F segment), being responsible for 42.49% of contracts traded, compared to 43.86% in the previous month. Institutional investors were responsible for 27.12%, compared to 26.77%; foreign investors represented 21.66%, in contrast to 20.31%; individuals represented 6.83% compared to 7.16%; and companies, were responsible for 1.90%, the same as the previous month.

Individual Investors
In October, there were 87.089 individual investors with at least one account registered at the Derivatives Clearinghouse, compared to 85,033 in the previous month.

Source: MondoVision, 06.11.2009

Filed under: BM&FBOVESPA, Brazil, Exchanges, Latin America, News , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

November 6, 2009 • 11:13 pm 2

VAM: Vietnam Monthly Market Analysis October 2009

Market Update – Economically, Vietnam continued to show it is in the midst of a v-shaped recovery in October.  Through the first 10 months of 2009 compared to the same period last year, industrial production is up 7%, retail sales are up 18%, and exports are showing some signs of improvement now down only 13.8%.  Inflation remains in check at 3% YoY in October.  Furthermore, foreign direct investment commitments were roughly US$6 billion in October, the best month this year and bringing total commitments for 2009 up to roughly US$19 billion. VAM_Monthly_Newsletter_Oct_2009

Credit growth year to date in Vietnam stands at 33% through the end of October, well over the full year target of 30%.  The National Assembly has been deliberating during the month on, among other things, whether to extend a second stimulus package.  Concerns that excessive credit growth may re-stoke inflation and also lead to deteriorating bank balance sheets are delaying the announcement of the potential second stimulus package.  However, continuing the interest rate subsidy portion of the original stimulus package has been approved, albeit with theoretically more stringent restrictions to avoid improper usage.

During October, the official USD/VND exchange rate reached over VND 17,000 for the first time. The State Bank of Vietnam announced the USD/VND average exchange rate on the interbank market on 10th October 2009 was VND 17,001. This is the record high, resulting from continuous slight increases of VND 2  3 from the beginning of September. At the end of the month, the black market VND/USD exchange rate spiked up to as much as 18,600 VND/USD by some accounts.

The stock market had an up-and-down month, finishing up just 1.1% at 587.12 after having dropped to as low as 549 and increased to as high as 624.1 at some points during the month.  However, the month end sentiment was bearish.  Potential reasons for the month end correction include, i) Vietnams financial markets aligning with poor global sentiment, ii) perceived drained liquidity through tougher application of the interest rate subsidy program.

Third quarter results have come out for most listed companies by end of October. Generally the results are good and many companies have achieved 80% of their earning targets for the year. Sectors which have done well are real estate, construction materials (including plastics, steel, cement) and ports. The property market has warmed up after a lack-luster 1H09 and transactions are being busily reported, especially in Northern Vietnam market. This has got some real estate companies revise up their earning targets for the year quite significantly. The port operators are still enjoying good earnings, with port fees increasing 10-15% this year, due to lack of supply.

The Food & Beverage sector continued to be steady with most companies on track to achieve their full-year earnings targets; some will also have extraordinary income from sources such as asset revaluation and financial investments. However, some may face slower sales in 4Q due to cold weather in the North (e.g. beverage), while some others may benefit from Vietnamese habbit of stocking up food for Lunar New Year (e.g. confectionery). Seafood exporters reported mixed results, with the industry leaders performing well and smaller players suffering from high cost inventory and lost markets. Pharmaceutical sector is inline although no breakthrough is expected. Auto components also did well but next quarters may be more difficult due to higher material costs.

Banks had a tough quarter as NIM dropped around 20% QoQ amidst increasing competition for funding. Insurance companies are still making losses from core business and furthermore hit by losses from bond investments in the rising yield environment. Shipping companies have done slightly better in 3Q09 compared to 1H09 but the outlook is still rather bleak as shipping rates are expected to improve only toward end 2010.

Our View – We think that the market has passed its initial recovery stage where most stocks enjoyed price appreciation. Going forward, the market will be more selective and biased toward companies with good earnings potential based on the current and near-term economic outlook. In the medium and long term, we continue to be bullish on the markets recovery and certain stocks with strong fundamentals will continue to outperform.
Source: Vietnam Asset Management, 06.11.2009

 

Filed under: Asia, News, Vietnam , , , , , , , , , ,

• 11:33 am 1

Thomson Reuters Q3 net profit slides as markets unit sees revenues dip

Thomson Reuters posted a 59% fall in net earnings for the third quarter on integration costs and lower revenues at the recession-hit markets division.

Revenues were down four per cent, from $3.2 billion in Q3 2008 to $3.2 billion this year. Net profit for the quarter was $167 million, or 19 cents a share, down from $406 million, or 49 cents a share, in Q3 2008. Operating profit tumbled 32% to £378 million, compared to $553 million a year ago.

However, underlying operating profit, when items including restructuring charges are excluded, was up three per cent to $711 million, driven by currency rates and integration-related savings. Adjusted earnings per share were 43 cents compared with 47 cents in the third quarter of 2008.

The firm’s markets division, which accounts for around 60% of all revenues, saw a six per cent fall in revenues after currency movements, to $1.86 billion. However, operating profit for the unit increased 10% to $369 million on integration savings.

Corporate expenses tripled to $163 million in the third quarter, due in part to integration costs. However, the integration has achieved combined run-rate savings of $975 million as at 30 September.

The company reaffirmed its previous outlook that revenues are expected to grow in 2009 and underlying operating profit margin and free cash flow will be comparable with 2008.

However it warns that the “revenue impact of weaker 2009 subscription net sales in Markets and Legal is expected to continue to be a drag on revenues through the first half of 2010″.

Tom Glocer, CEO, Thomson Reuters, says: “Our ongoing focus on the Reuters integration and close cost management across the company has enabled us to continue to grow underlying operating profit. While we would welcome a quick return to revenue growth, we understand how to operate in challenging markets and we are confident that we are outperforming the competition.”

Source: Finextra, 05.11.2009


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