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

April 25, 2013 • 12:58 am 0

Derivatives: Struggling Into the New Era – Outlook 2013/14

The past few years have been challenging for the global economy but it seems as though the derivatives industry sustained more than its share of insults and injuries over the past year or so. Still reeling from the trauma of MF Global in October of 2011, exchange-traded volume went into its first nosedive in decades.

Urgent regulatory requirements added intense cost and time pressures to company staffs that were already stretched. A non-clearing FCM, Peregrine Financial, collapsed in scandal. OTC derivatives struggled with complex regulatory mandates and weak volume.

Perhaps the only positive for the year was that mergers and acquisitions at both the macro and micro level imply that innovation and creativity are still powerful industry drivers. That in turn suggests that the creative dynamism that has characterized the derivatives industry for so many years still has some innings to go.

Read the detailed report about Derivatives market outlook, challenges and issue of big deals, exchange mergers and new start ups, customer protection, Regulatory,Extraterritorial and Tax problems  and more. 

Source: WEF 25.04.2013 by Nicolas Ronalds

Filed under: Asia, Brazil, Exchanges, Risk Management, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

April 20, 2013 • 11:28 pm 0

Mexico, The Emerging Latin American Powerhouse

TABB Forum:  For the past few years, coverage of Mexico in the U.S. media has largely been dominated by stories of violence stemming from the country’s drug cartels. Lately though, the media have increasingly been turning their attention to the story of Mexico’s booming economy, and new president Enrique Peña Nieto’s bold moves to radically reshape it. This robust growth in Mexico looks set to continue for some time, which has led the Financial Times to label Mexico as the “Aztec Tiger.”1

MexDer, the nation’s only futures exchange, has been taking steps to ensure that it grows apace with the nation’s economy by making substantial upgrades to its matching engine, while continuing to make it easier for foreign investors to access the market. As a result of these changes, as of yesterday, April 14, north-to-south routing to MexDer via CME Group’s Globex® platform is available on Trading Technologies. You can read the details in the news release that we published today and on  TradingTechnology website.

The Aztec Tiger 

A perfect storm of positive influences is coming together to make Mexico one of the world’s emerging economic powerhouses. Mexico has a young and growing population, low levels of government debt and low inflation. The country is developing into a leading exporter due in part to widespread implementation of new manufacturing processes, but also due to the fact that Mexico has free trade pacts with 44 countries—more than any other nation on earth.These forces have combined to make Mexico’s economy one of the few bright spots in a global economy still working off the hangover resulting from the credit bubble. Mexico’s economy grew at around four percent in 2012, quadruple the growth rate of Latin America’s largest economy, Brazil.2 The Mexican peso hit a 19-month high against the U.S. dollar in March, and has outpaced 16 other major world currencies over the last month.3

With its growth track record and favorable conditions for growth to continue, a Nomura Equity Research report in July 2012 predicted that Mexico would overtake Brazil to become the largest Latin American economy within the next decade.4 In addition, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch have indicated that in the near future, they are likely to upgrade Mexico’s debt, which is already investment grade.5

A Pact for Mexico, An Open Door for Growth

Much of the optimism for Mexico’s future can be traced back to its new president, Enrique Peña Nieto. He hails from the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which ruled Mexico uninterrupted for 71 years and was identified with corruption and inefficient bureaucracy. That being said, President Nieto is quickly making himself known as a risk taker, willing to take on fights in which none of his predecessors seemed willing to engage.

Within two days of his swearing-in last December, Nieto’s PRI signed a “Pact for Mexico”6 with the opposition National Action Party (PAN). This pact outlines 95 proposals to modernize and liberalize Mexico’s economy. Nieto began by taking on the richest man in the world, Carlos Slim, by announcing plans to foster competition in the telecommunication and television industries, which are currently dominated by monopolies. Later this year, Nieto is expected to propose his most significant change, opening up Mexico’s energy market and allowing the state-run oil concern Pemex to work with the world’s largest oil companies. It’s expected that these reforms, once enacted, will increase Mexico’s GDP growth from four percent to six percent a year.7

Making MoNeT

In parallel, MexDer and the Mexican government have done quite a bit to attract foreign investors, and to make it easy for them to access the market. Perhaps one of the most significant changes has been the development of the MoNeT matching engine, which went live on Bolsa Mexicana de Valores (BMV), the equities segment, last fall.

The MoNeT matching engine was designed to attract high-frequency traders, mainly from the U.S. and Europe. It boasts internal latencies of 90 microseconds, which is faster than the 110 microseconds of NASDAQ or 125 microseconds at the London Stock Exchange.8 BMV volumes have increased 30 percent to 40 percent since the launch of the new matching engine.9For international traders and investors, accessing MexDer is straightforward. The north-to-south routing available via CME Globex allows any TT customer with an existing CME infrastructure to route orders to MexDer’s matching engine. MexDer is also accessible now in TT’s MultiBroker environment, which is currently available in beta. Additional information regarding how CME users can access MexDer is posted on the CME website.There are a number of other reasons why doing business in Mexico is easier than most other Latin American countries. Unlike Brazil, there is no withholding tax of any kind on foreign investment. The Mexican peso is a freely traded and easily convertible currency, and MexDer’s clearing house, Asigna, accepts U.S. dollar-denominated collateral.

La Oportunidad Está En Todas Partes

Owing to the fact that the U.S. does $1.5 billion per day in trade with Mexico,10 the Mexican markets are, predictably, highly correlated with America’s. North-to-south customers trading MexDer via Globex have access to a number of financial futures that allow for arbitrage opportunities against their American counterparts.

MexDer lists the IPC index of the BMV, which in general tracks closely to the S&P 500. The full Mexican yield curve is available on MexDer, from one-month bills to 30-year bonds, and it converges with the U.S. yield curve. Finally, MexDer lists a Mexican peso/U.S. dollar FX future, one of the 20 biggest FX futures contracts in the world by volume, which sets up arbitrage opportunities with the CME’s equally liquid peso/U.S. dollar future. In a recent MarketsWiki interview, MexDer CEO Jorge Alegria indicated that going forward, the exchange would likely look to list commodity futures linked to similar contracts listed on CME Group.

BMV IPC vs. S&P 500
Chart obtained from Yahoo! Finance

The ascent of the Aztec Tiger is no sure thing. There is always the danger of President Nieto’s PRI party losing its appetite for reform and returning to its old ways. There’s the chance that the hiccups in the U.S. economic recovery may impact Mexico, given that 30 percent of the Mexican economy is tied to U.S. exports. There may even be signs that Mexico’s economy is stalling already, which led the central bank to reduce interest rates for the first time since March 2009. Either way, TT users now have the ability to participate in one of today’s most interesting markets.

1 Thomson, Adam. “Mexico: Aztec tiger.” Financial Times. January 30, 2013.
2 Rathbone, John-Paul. “Mexico’s reform plan lifts hopes for greater prosperity.” Financial Times. March 20, 2013
3 Kwan Yuk, Pan. “Mexican peso hits 19 month high”. Financial Times. March 14, 2013.

Filed under: BMV - Mexico, Exchanges, Latin America, Mexico, News, Trading Technology, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

March 14, 2013 • 2:42 am 0

EUREX Group and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in Technology Alliance

Eurex Group and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) announced today that they have agreed to deepen their strategic partnership through a long-term technology alliance under which BSE will join the Eurex technology roadmap and deploy Deutsche Börse Group’s trading architecture in a first step. BSE aims to replace its derivatives market platform in the course of 2013 and plans to subsequently replace also its cash market platform. This agreement is an important step in further developing the strategic partnership between Eurex and BSE.

The new partnership in the technology sphere will allow BSE to quickly achieve the highest global standards for speed, reliability and order-handling capacity. It will bring to BSE state-of-the art levels of capacity and latency, already in place at the International Securities Exchange (ISE) since summer 2011 and in roll-out at Eurex Exchange. By aligning BSE, Eurex Exchange and ISE markets on a common trading infrastructure, IT costs for shared customers will be significantly reduced. This will also reduce technology development and installation efforts for Eurex and ISE members who wish to connect to BSE and vice versa as well as strengthen the case for cross-listing.

“We expect our technology alliance with Eurex will help BSE to compete more effectively in India, to help us attract more international participants into our marketplace and improve our market share in derivatives and equity trading,” said Ashish Chauhan, MD and CEO of BSE. “It will quickly put BSE into the Premier League of exchanges in terms of the performance of our matching engine and overall technology infrastructure.”

“This technology alliance strengthens our long-term partnership with BSE, and is another milestone in our Asian strategic roadmap, in which India obviously plays an important role. This technology alliance also contributes to growing our global liquidity network, based on common market infrastructure, for the benefit of both our partners and our members,” said Andreas Preuss, CEO of Eurex and Deputy CEO of Deutsche Börse AG.

Source: MondoVision, 12.03.2013

Filed under: Asia, Exchanges, India, Trading Technology, , , , , , , ,

February 22, 2013 • 1:40 am 0

VAM: Vietnam Market Analysis – January 2013

All indices recorded strong gains in January as investors’ sentiment improved
The VN-Index surged 15.5% to close at 479.8 while the HNX jumped 9.7% to 62.62. The VN30, after reaching its all time high at 577, eased back to 564.01 at the end of the month, gaining 16%.
 
Timely measures to give market a boost
With effect from15th January 2013, the trading band on HSX and HNX have been loosened to 7% and 10%, from 5% and 7%, respectively. Besides, SSC also introduced other measures to support the stock market such as tax incentives, allowing to issue stocks below par value, increasing margin ratio and most importantly, increasing foreign ownership limit by non-voting rights in some selective industries (namely at weak banks to over 30%, and at securities companies to 100%).
Furthermore, SBV also intends to participate in domestic gold trading to stabilize domestic gold price, closing the gap with global price, thus discouraging people from holding too much gold. Those measures to boost the stock market, especially the possibility on increasing foreign ownership and the proposal to tighten gold control have somewhat created the wave of optimistic buying in January.
 
A wave of Japanese FDI and record remittances to welcome Tet
According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, FDI disbursement in January reached USD420mn in total, up 5% YoY. Total newly registered and top-up capital grew 74% YoY, of which newly approved projects registered USD257mn, a 293% YoY increase, and top-up capital touched USD24.3mn, rising 25.2% YoY. Japanese became the biggest investor making up 57.6% total newly approved projects so far this year.
Thanks to the surge before Tet holiday, total remittances this year are estimated at a record USD10 billion. The total foreign reserve has increased to USD26bn, equivalent to 2.3 months of imports, a historical high and an 8.3% increase from USD24bn as at the end of 2012. The healthier FX reserve helps to safeguard the value of the Dong.
 
Tet, on the other hand, narrows trade surplus
Januaryrecorded a smaller trade surplus as demand for imports increased before Tet holiday. Exports exceeded imports by only USD200 million in January, after a revised trade surplus of USD498 million in December. From the previous month, export value decreased 2.5% while the import value edged up about 0.4%, although both of them showed huge improvement, more than 40%, compared to the same period last year. Foreign invested enterprises continue to be the leading sector with 66% and 55% of total export and import value, respectively. They also outperform domestic sector in terms of more import growth and less export reduction during the first month of 2013.
 
Credit drop and CPI jump surprise market.
The industrial production index (IIP) decreased 3.2% from December amid pessimistic outlook for stagnation on retail sales. Indeed, consumers continued to reduce spending at the prospect of lower income and no year-end bonus. The retail sales edged up just 2.2% MoM in Jan, the month before a long Tet holiday. As a result, credit dropped 1.06% YTD, according to the press release from a government meeting.
In contrast, January’s PMI moved in a different direction with the IIP since it increased to 50.1 from 49.3, thanks to modest improvement in new order volumes from domestic market and marginal job growth. Amidst stagnation of industrial production and credit growth, a solid increase in average input prices, a component of PMI basket, after a marginal reduction in December, suggests that SBV should be more cautious about further easing as inflation risk came back from the beginning of a new year. Jumps in health care (9.5% MoM) and foodstuff (1.96% MoM) items led CPI to soar 1.25% MoM (7.07% YoY) in January, exceeding market expectation. Accordingly, inflation risk puts any rate cut rumors on hold until at least after Tet holiday.
 
Government charts out tasks for banking sector with focuses on inflation control and bad debt resolution
Main objectives of SBV in 2013 continue to be curbing inflation, stabilizing macro economy alongside with restructuring banking sector and tackling NPL issues. For 2013, the SBV targets to keep credit growth at 12%. Importantly, SBV has submitted to government the plan that allows AMC to purchase bad debts based on book value (after provision) and pay by bonds to the bank. Banks could use AMC bonds as collateral to get cheap fund from SBV at a discount rate. Commercial banks with NPLs higher than 3% will be forced to bring down their NPLs to 3%.
On the other hand, as there are many linkages between real estate market and NPL problems in banking system, government also issued the Resolution No.2, which introduces several tax incentives, credit line for low income individuals to purchase social houses and transferring commercial housing projects into social housing. However since social housing only accounts for a small portion of property sector, we think these solutions are not effective enough to rescue the whole troubled real estate market.
 
Our View – Bullish momentum remained in the first month of 2013 thanks to good round of macroeconomic indicators release. While capital inflow continued being positive, actions of authorities looked effective in boosting the market. However, as stocks ran too high and too fast during the last two months, we start to be skeptical about the strength of this momentum. A month before Tet, inflation risk seems to be coming back and industrial stagnation looks a bit tense. We maintain a cautiously optimistic view and relatively high equity holding, particularly stocks with strong fundamentals in consumers, pharmaceuticals and materials sectors. As Government is showing more and more determination to improve the economy and clean up the banking sector, stickers with strong cash flow, low debt and high beta are also in our consideration to pick up to ride the market’s uptrend.

Filed under: Exchanges, News, Vietnam, Wealth Management, , , , , , , , , , ,

February 8, 2013 • 10:38 am 0

ICE gets green light for Brazilian fixed income trading platform

IntercontinentalExchange (NYSE: ICE), a leading operator of global markets and clearing houses, and Cetip S.A., Latin America’s largest private fixed income depository, announced that the jointly developed fixed income trading platform Cetip | Trader is expected to launch on February 25, 2013.

This follows a successful beta test that started in August and final regulatory approval from the Brazilian securities regulator Comissao de Valores Mobiliarios (CVM) today.

“This platform reinforces Cetip’s commitment to develop an efficient and transparent secondary market, respecting and improving the practices of our local over-the-counter market,” said Cetip Managing Director Carlos Ratto.

Cetip | Trader offers market participants access to voice confirmation, electronic trading and historical data in a single platform. Over the past few months, it has been thoroughly tested in a simulated trading environment with approximately 80 institutions entering more than 100,000 mock trades. While the platform was initially developed for corporate and government bonds, its flexible architecture is adaptable for new products as driven by market demand.

“We are providing an innovative solution that brings the front office a more dynamic and intuitive language,” said Cetip Trading Solutions Manager Ricardo Vit. “Cetip | Trader is a flexible and simple tool that will help keep our customers ahead of the curve.”

“ICE was pleased to work with Cetip to build a product that is customized for the Brazilian market, available in Portuguese, and that provides a complete trading solution to the market for corporate and government bonds,” said ICE Senior Vice President and Chief Strategic Officer Dave Goone.

ICE Link, ICE’s post-trade processing service, will also be available to Cetip | Trader customers beginning February 25. ICE Link has developed straight-through-processing workflows customized for the Brazilian bond market. These workflows enable middle and back office operations to more efficiently and effectively allocate trades and submit them to Cetip for registration.

Said Vit, “In addition to easier access to liquidity and execution, the complete solution also aims for better operational risk mitigation and total cost reduction on the life of a trade. ICE Link allows standardization in the trade workflow and better data integrations with counterparties and internal systems. This provides market participants a level of automation never before experienced in the Brazilian over-the-counter market.”

Source:  IntercontinentalExchange, 08.02.2013

Filed under: Brazil, Exchanges, Latin America, Trading Technology, , , , , , ,

January 22, 2013 • 12:21 am 0

Peru: LSE signs Bolsa de Valores de Lima to MillenniumIT tech

London Stock Exchange Group today announced that it has entered into a technology partnership with Bolsa de Valores de Lima.

MillenniumIT, a wholly-owned subsidiary of London Stock Exchange Group will provide state of the art trading and Smart Order Routing technology to Peru’s markets via its ultra low latency, highly scalable trading platform, Millennium Exchange and Millennium SOR.

Tony Weeresinghe, Director of Global Development at London Stock Exchange Group and CEO of MillenniumIT, said: ”This is a significant achievement for us. Peru is one of Latin America’s fastest growing economies, and there is need for efficient, reliable capital markets infrastructure as business and investment continues to develop there. We look forward to building on this partnership, and playing our part in the next stage of Bolsa de Valores de Lima’s development.”

Francis Stenning, CEO at Bolsa de Valores de Lima, said: ”We are very conscious of the relevance of technology in our business. That is why we believe this upgrade in our electronic trading platform and order routing system will take us to the forefront of technology. It will allow Bolsa de Valores de Lima to keep up with the growing Peruvian economy, provide new services to the local market and increase its efficiency. This will allow us to benefit from better tools and a strategic alliance with one of the most developed stock exchanges in the world, London Stock Exchange Group, and to take advantage of more globally interconnected markets, including MILA.”

Source: Finextra, 18.01.2013

Filed under: Exchanges, Latin America, Peru, Trading Technology, , , , , ,

January 18, 2013 • 1:32 am 0

VAM: Vietnam Market Analysis – December 2012

Improved economic conditions somewhat buoyed the stock market in the last month of the year as all three indices moved up
The VN-index closed at 413.7, gaining 11.23% while VN30 closed at 485.4, picking up 9.42%. HNX was the best performer of three indices, increasing 11.83% to close the month at 57.09.
 
Macro indicators showed joyful December
Market confidence was regained thanks to better-than-expected CPI, trade balance, interest rates cut and detail implementation of the Government on spurring the economy. For the first time in four months CPI slowed in December, with consumer prices rising 6.81% from a year earlier after climbing 7.08% Y-o-Y in November. Consequently, the State Bank cut benchmark interest rates for a sixth time to help companies cope with difficulties in production and business. The trade balance posted a first year of surplus (of US$284mn) since 1993. Despite a gloomy year, FDI disbursement reached USD10.5bn, dropping a marginal 5% YoY. As a result, foreign reserves are significantly improved, reaching US$24 billion, equivalent to 12 weeks of import. The Dong remains unchanged.
 
However, stability was achieved at the cost of growth
Vietnam’s economy expanded at the slowest pace in 13 years in 2012 as a slump in bank lending dampened domestic demand. GDP grew 5.03%, down from 5.89% in 2011, and the lowest since 1999. Bad debt and the gloomy business environment hampered credit growth, which ended 2012 at 6.45% YoY while total liquidity growth and deposit growth were 19.85% and 20.29% YoY, respectively.As the lenders’ liquidity position becomes comfortable and full-year inflation was a lower-than-expected 6.81%, the central bank decided to cut all policy rates and deposit cap rate by 1%, effective on December 24, in an attempt to make banks lend more. But as the real interest rate is still positive, some are speculating on another rate cut, even as the World Bank warned against easing too soon.
On the other front, the HSBC’s Vietnam PMI index fell back to deterioration in December, down to 49.3 from 50.5 last month, as a result of reduction in order inflows, disinvestment of inventory holdings and stagnating production volumes.
 
Government details its determination to spur the economy
To spur the economy and resolve the financial system, the Government started implementing a detailed action plan. Businesses may enjoy lower corporate income tax rate in 2013, i.e. 23% for large enterprises and 20% for SMEs (down from 25% earlier); real estate will receive more support based on a newly approved proposal by MoF, which includes a 50% VAT reduction, 2-year extension on the deadline of land use fees payment and the establishment of AMC aiming to solve rising NPLs. Moreover, USD300mn from Asian Development Bank in a 25-year loan package will help to restructure SOEs in 2013.
 
Authority changes rules to push the capital market
On the capital market, SSC submitted its proposal in support of the stock market to the Ministry, in which key measures might include tax incentives, allowing to issue stocks below par, increasing margin ratio and trading band and most importantly, increasing foreign ownership limit. Otherwise, SBV governor also announced that they are working on revising the Decree 69/2007, wherein special cases, i.e for restructuring commercial banks, the foreign ownership ratio might be allowed to exceed 30%. Since 10th January, the number of gold bar shops will decline from 8,000 to 2,400 including around 900 in Ho Chi Minh City and 400 in Hanoi, after SBV completes the licensing procedures. 
 
Our View – On the background of good macro economic indicators coming out in December and improved investor sentiments after seeing the Government’s determination to spur the economy being detailed into action plans, the stock market had a good run in the last month of 2012. We are cautiously optimistic and have started to mobilize cash into Vietnam Dong to be ready for deployment toward increasing equity level for the Fund. We are keen to buy stocks of strong companies with sound cash flow and healthy balance sheets in fundamental industries such as consumers and materials.

Filed under: Banking, Exchanges, News, Risk Management, Services, Vietnam, Wealth Management, , , , , , , , , , , ,

December 21, 2012 • 10:03 am 0

ICE to acquire NYSE Euronext for 8.2 billion USD – Back Ground and Analysis

The overall mix of the $8.2 billion of merger consideration being paid by ICE is approximately 67% shares and 33% cash. The transaction value of $33.12 represents a 37.7% premium over NYSE Euronext’s closing share price on Wednesday.  The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2013, subject to regulatory approvals.

Investors see plenty of upsides in a takeover by ICE, which would create a powerhouse in cross-asset trading and reduce Nyse Euronext’s reliance on stagnating, hyper-competitive equity markets. Nyse’s share of trading on stocks listed on the Big Board has shrunk from 82% to just 21% in a fiercely competitive market.  For ICE, a tie-up with Nyse Euronext will give the energy trading bourse a leg-up into the expanding market for over-the-counter derivatives contracts and the geographical outreach to take on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

The two companies have already inked an agreement for Nyse Liffe to move its clearing operations to ICE Clear Europe. The implications of the deal for Nyse Liffe’s plans to move its clearing from LCH.Clearnet to a newly-constructed inhouse CCP by June 2013 have not been spelled out.

The combined company is expected to save up to $450 million through cost synergies in the second full year post closing. ICE has successfully integrated more than a dozen acquisitions in the last decade.  An earlier bid by ICE to take over Nyse Euronext in tandem with Nasdaq OMX was nixed by the US Justice Department on anti-competitive grounds. Observers see no similar objections being raised to a straight merger, with Nasdaq OMX removed from the equation. FinExtra 20.12.2012

NYSE and ICE: Not So Nice for European Equities

Given the sweeping changes hitting exchanges on the back of growing regulation and falling equity volumes in Europe, the combined entity would increase its chance of success, dominating European energy, commodity and short-dated fixed income trading, as well as OTC credit clearing; and leap-frogging Deutsche Boerse to become the world’s third-largest exchange group, with a combined market value of $15.2 billion.

However, not all divisions would benefit. Whilst a tie up with ICE would enable London-based Liffe to compete more effectively with CME Group in both trading and clearing of OTC products, for Euronext the future looks less certain. According to NYSE’s investor presentation explaining the deal, ICE “intends to explore an IPO of Euronext if market conditions allow and if European policy makers are supportive.” See full article at TABB Forum 20.12.2012.

ICE and NYSE Euronext Enter Clearing Services Agreement; ICE Clear Europe to Clear NYSE Liffe’s Derivatives Markets

ICE and NYSE Euronext agree that their wholly owned subsidiaries, ICE Clear Europe Limited and LIFFE Administration and Management have entered into a clearing services agreement pursuant to which ICE Clear Europe will provide clearing services to the London market of NYSE Liffe (“NYSE Liffe”). The clearing services agreement will allow NYSE Liffe to transition seamlessly from their current clearing arrangements. See full article at Bob´s Guide 20.12.2012

Inside ICE takeover of NYSE Euronext ( Tabb Forum Video Interview)

Exchange Consolidation: Getting Over Merger Mania

At this time last year, NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Bourse were more than midway through a year-long merger push that would have resulted in an exchange operator with an estimated $16 billion in combined market capital and a near monopoly on the European exchange-traded derivatives business. Consolidation, it seemed, was the key to competing in the global exchange landscape.

But dreams of consolidation, synergies and economies of scale were quickly dashed. The two biggest cross-border exchange deals — NYSE/DB merger and the proposed merger of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) and the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) — were blocked by regulators, and the LSE’s attempt to buy the Toronto Stock Exchange (TMX), which also failed initially due to reluctant regulators, eventually lost out to a domestic bid from Maple Group Acquisition Corp. earlier this year. see full article at TABB Forum 12.12.2012.

Filed under: Exchanges, News, , , , , , , ,

December 7, 2012 • 1:11 am 0

Nyse Technologies expands SFTI network in Asia

Nyse Technologies, the commercial technology division of Nyse Euronext, today announced the continuing expansion of its Secure Financial Transaction Infrastructure (SFTI) in Asia with the introduction of two access centres located in Hong Kong.

Customers now, for the first time, have direct access to the SFTI network, allowing them to connect from Hong Kong to services offered by NYSE Technologies through SFTI, including access to Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (HKEx), all major international trading venues, market data solutions, plus the NYSE Euronext capital markets community.

As part of the expansion of the SFTI network to include Hong Kong, NYSE has also extended SFTI to the new HKEx Data Centre colocation facility, giving customers there access to all the services available on SFTI through a simple cross connect to their colo racks. NYSE Technologies also plans to expand SFTI in the region to connect other markets like Australia and Korea.

NYSE Technologies’ Secure Financial Transaction Infrastructure provides access to a comprehensive range of capital markets products through a single point of access and offers low-latency trading access to the NYSE Liffe and NYSE Euronext markets. SFTI Asia is the most recent extension of the global backbone, enabling Asian firms to receive market data and trade on multiple markets. Designed to be the industry’s most secure and resilient network, SFTI is specifically built for electronic trading and market data traffic thus enabling firms to reduce their time-to-market, improve their performance and significantly lower the cost of their trading infrastructure. Furthermore, the global backbone allows customers to connect to their trading infrastructure distributed in financial centres around the world using a SFTI connection on the other side of the world.

“The addition of these important access centres in Hong Kong is a further step in the expansion of NYSE Technologies’ footprint and reach of the SFTI Asia network and adds to our established presence in Singapore and Tokyo.” Daniel Burgin, Head of Asia Pacific, NYSE Technologies, commented. “Offering multiple access centres in the Asia Pacific region allows them to use SFTI Asia to connect to regional and global exchanges and markets in a cost effective way through a single connection at each of the client’s locations around the region. This eliminates the overheads and costs associated with maintaining separate network connections in each location to multiple trading venues.”

Source: NYSE Technology 06.12.2012

Filed under: Australia, China, Data Management, Data Vendor, Exchanges, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Market Data, News, Singapore, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

December 6, 2012 • 12:57 am 0

HKEx completes LME acquisition

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) and LME Holdings Limited (LME Holdings), the parent company of The London Metal Exchange Limited (LME), are pleased to announce that the acquisition of the entire issued ordinary share capital of LME Holdings by HKEx has completed today.

Completion was effected by the delivery of the relevant court orders to the Registrar of Companies for England and Wales.

The transaction brings together the leading operator of exchanges and clearing houses in Asia, with the world’s leading non-ferrous base metals trading venue.

Charles Li, Chief Executive of HKEx said, “We are delighted that, as of today, the LME is formally part of the HKEx group. We are confident that this partnership will deliver enormous benefits over time as we leverage our relationships and knowledge to build on LME’s strong global position.”

Martin Abbott, Chief Executive of the LME said, “The LME will remain the world’s foremost base metals exchange thanks to HKEx’s position in Asia, its infrastructure and resources. We begin a new chapter today but the LME is more secure than at any point in its 135-year history.”

Source: Finextra, 06.12.2012

Filed under: Exchanges, Hong Kong, Services, , , , , , , ,

November 8, 2012 • 10:41 am 0

Brazil:Revenue and income on the up at BM&FBovespa

BM&FBOVESPA S.A. (BVMF3) today reported third quarter earnings ending September 30, 2012. The Bovespa segment recorded its second strongest performance to-date.

This performance together with higher Rate per Contract (RPC) for derivatives and growth in non- trading and settlement segments delivered solid revenue increase. Also, expense control in the quarter contributed to improve operating performance.

3Q12 gross revenues reached R$581.3 million, up 6.2% over 3Q11, reflecting growth across all segments;
Adjusted expenses[1] were R$136.0 million, roughly flat compared to 3Q11. Adjusted expenses rose by 6.4% over the previous quarter in line with the Company’s budget for the year;
Operating income reached R$346.8 million, up 7.0% over 3Q11 and operating margin increased by 84 bps;
EBITDA grew 8.1% and EBITDA margin increased by 162 bps compared to 3Q11;
Adjusted net income[2] totaled R$400.6 million, increasing by 0.3% over 3Q11 as operating income growth was offset by a reduction in financial income and higher non-cash taxes;
Adjusted earnings per share rose 1.7%, to R$0.21;
Average Daily Trading Value (ADTV) for the Bovespa segment reached an all-time-high of R$8.4 billion in September 2012;
ADTV of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) was up 90.2% year-over-year. Average assets under custody of Tesouro Direto rose by 45.6%;
Average RPC in the BM&F Segment increased 14.7% year-over-year, offsetting the 4.0% reduction in the Average Daily Volume (ADV) for the segment;
R$221.2 million in dividends and interest on capital, comprising 80% of 3Q12 GAAP net income.

“We maintained focus on delivering our strategy to grow and diversify revenues and drive operational excellence,” said BM&FBOVESPA Chief Executive Officer Edemir Pinto. “We are also making significant advances in building state-of-the-art technological capabilities which will place our trading technology and capacity at the forefront of global best practices.”
“In this way, we are ready to capture and optimize the opportunities presented by Brazilian capital markets and this new era of low interest rates. We are making infrastructure investments, focusing on market integrity, developing markets and products, and strengthening relationships with market participants” Mr. Pinto added.

Chief Financial, Corporate Affairs and Investor Relations Officer, Eduardo Refinetti Guardia, said: “BM&FBOVESPA achieved solid results and strong operating leverage in the third quarter, consistently expanding margins and cash generation.”

Filed under: BM&FBOVESPA, Brazil, Exchanges, , , , , ,

November 6, 2012 • 11:12 pm 0

ATG taps Nyse Technologies for ATS Brasil

Americas Trading Group (ATG) today announced the formation of a new company that will develop a liquidity center targeting the Brazilian exchange market called Americas Trading System Brasil or ATS Brasil.

Utilizing trading solutions developed by NYSE Technologies, the technology unit of NYSE Euronext, ATS Brasil will offer customers a new equities matching platform in Latin America.

ATG will maintain the controlling interest as well as operational management of the company with NYSE Technologies as a minority shareholder and the core technology provider. ATS Brasil plans to begin operations in 2013, subject to approvals by the Central Bank of Brazil and the Brazilian Securities Commission (CVM).

Fernando Cohen, ATG´s President, believes that the entry of ATS Brasil will have a positive effect on the local stock market as it will contribute to expanding the range of products and services offered to investors in the region. Cohen also emphasized the importance of NYSE Technologies’ decision to expand into the Brazilian market by becoming a partner of ATS Brasil.

Cohen stated that initially ATS Brasil intends to operate in a model known as “the organized OTC market” based on computerization and transparency in order registration and execution, and adopt rigid mechanisms of self-regulation. He further noted that ATS Brasil was not created to compete with BM&FBovespa, but rather to complement it by improving liquidity and price formation for Brazilian assets.

“The entry of ATS Brasil starts a new cycle in the Brazilian exchange market. Our innovative, high-performance order execution platform will generate more liquidity for the capital markets. This initiative should stimulate cost reduction by offering efficiency gains for investors and create the real possibility of placing the Brazilian market within international standards,” said Fernando Cohen.

Dominique Cerruti, President and Deputy CEO, NYSE Euronext said, “As a leading operator of global markets and market technology, we have designed and deployed proven, market-tested trading platforms in key market centers around the world. We are pleased to partner with ATG ith ATG as they expand their business into equities matching with the ATS Brasil initiative. Our technology platform should provide customers and market participants with the same high-quality trading experience, performance and reliability that they’ve come to expect from NYSE Euronext’s own exchanges.”

ATS Brasil will use the Universal Trading Platform (UTP) developed by NYSE Technologies and used by NYSE Euronext’s global markets. UTP has the capacity to process high volumes of messages with very low latency, giving market participants the opportunity to submit thousands of orders per second while also improving market transparency and liquidity. Additionally, ATS Brasil is expected to attract new investors to the Brazilian market, including local and international high frequency traders. ATG will also utilize NYSE Technologies’ Secure Financial Transaction Infrastructure (SFTI) network to provide global access and direct market data distribution for customers trading outside Brazil. 

Source: FinExtra , 06.11.2012

Filed under: BM&FBOVESPA, Brazil, Exchanges, Latin America, Market Data, Mexico, Trading Technology, , , , , , , , , , ,

October 23, 2012 • 10:58 pm 0

Cemex aims for $950m Latin American float in Colombia

Cemex, the Mexican cement producer, hopes to raise up to $950m from the partial sale of its Latin American subsidiary, people familiar with the deal told the Financial Times on Monday.

The company has set a price range of 11,000-13,500 Colombian pesos a share for the sale of about 24 per cent, or 126.6m shares, in Cemex Latam Holdings, Cemex’s Central and South American unit, in a forthcoming initial public offering on the Colombian stock exchange.

 
FT related CEMEX news:
The IPO of Cemex Latam, which includes Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama, is part of the company’s ongoing efforts to pay down its high debt. As of end of September, gross debt, which includes perpetual notes, stood at $17.7bn.

The planned IPO follows a recent refinancing agreement for about $7bn in loans, which extends maturities by three years from 2014 to 2017. At the time, analysts welcomed the agreement, saying that it bought the company valuable time to allow global cement markets to recover.

“The refinancing lays to rest any residual concerns about the company’s solvency,” one analyst who asked not to be named, told the FT recently.

That, coupled with positive results during the third quarter – Cemex said that earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) between July and the end of September grew 9 per cent compared with last year to reach $730m, the highest ebitda generation in three years – has fuelled a rally in the company’s share price this year.

For years, Cemex was considered one of the most successful “multilatinas” as Latin American multinationals are known, as it embarked on a 20-year acquisition spree that turned it into the world’s third-largest cement producer by volume.

But the Monterrey-based company came unstuck following its purchase of Rinker, the Australian building-materials supplier, for $15.3bn – an acquisition it financed with short-term loans and that came on the cusp of the US housing crash.

Source: Financial Times, 22.10.2012

Filed under: Colombia, Exchanges, Mexico, News, , , , , , , ,

October 19, 2012 • 10:59 pm 0

Alternative Latin Investor: Wealth Management Issue 18

The Alternative Latin Investor Issue #18 is focusing on Wealth Management in Latin America.

Special Issue: Wealth Management

The World’s First Diamond Fund
Lack of Transparency in Colombia: Root Causes
LatAm Wealth Management Overview
Private Aviation Takes Off in Latin America
High-Tech Financial Technology Hits LatAm

…and much more. Regulations,  Tax & Money Laundering, Structured Finance, Political Risks,  Agri Business, Impact Investment, Wine Investment, Infrastructure, Art

Please view and access Issue 18  in the following formats

Virtual Viewer http://www.alternativelatininvestor.com/Issue18-Preview.htm

For more details and information please view http://www.alternativelatininvestor.com

Source: AlternativeLatinInvestor 18.10.2012

Filed under: Argentina, Banking, BM&FBOVESPA, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Energy & Environment, Islamic Finance, Mexico, News, Services, Trading Technology, Wealth Management, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

October 19, 2012 • 10:15 am 0

Nyse Technologies, Bolsa Mexicana and ATG build Mexican trading infrastructure

Nyse Technologies, the commercial technology division of Nyse Euronext (NYX: NYX) today announced that in collaboration with Bolsa Mexicana de Valores (BMV) and Americas Trading Group (ATG) it has built and deployed a state-of-the-art trading infrastructure complete with global connectivity, risk management functionality and direct market data distribution for customers trading in Mexican markets.

Designed to support the launch of Bolsa Mexicana’s new matching engine and midpoint hidden order book, this solution incorporates advanced technology developed specifically for every part of the trade cycle to provide unprecedented accessibility, performance and risk management for trading on Bolsa Mexicana’s exchanges with the aim of establishing Mexico as a premier Latin American investment destination.

Initially, this collaboration will provide:
• A new co-location model for access to cash and derivatives markets (through ATG directly at the KIO Data Center)
• Global connectivity for buy side, sell side and vendors from the US, Europe, Asia and also other Latin American markets such as Brazil and Chile.
• Sophisticated risk management functionality for international order routing (solution implemented by NYSE Technologies)
• Low touch order stamping by Bolsa Mexicana’s members to settle orders
• Global Market Data distribution via NYSE Technologies Secure Financial Transaction Infrastructure (SFTI) with direct contracting with BMV

“We are excited to again work with one of Latin America’s leading market operators in Bolsa Mexicana and market participants in ATG to deliver dramatic improvements across critical elements of the trade cycle,” said Dominique Cerruti, NYSE Technologies. “By continuing to improve access to key Latin American exchanges and customers, we continue to realize our vision of creating a global capital markets community with cutting-edge connectivity, performance and risk management.”

“Today’s announcement with NYSE Technologies and ATG demonstrates our ongoing commitment to grow and enhance our markets in Mexico to deliver highly flexible multi-market, multi-asset trading,” said Jorge Alegria, Head of Market Operations, Bolsa Mexicana de Valores. “We look forward to extending our relationship and cooperation with NYSE Technologies in several important areas that will f further expand that growth and performance in the near future.”

Source: FinExtra, 18.10.2012

Filed under: Asia, BMV - Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Data Management, Data Vendor, Latin America, Market Data, Mexico, Risk Management, Trading Technology, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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