Hong Kong
Citi loses pan-Asian head of equity derivative and convertible sales
Nick Smith appointed as replacement
Extraterritorial EU legislation likely to be ‘particularly onerous’ on Asia – Asifma
Extraterritorial aspects of European legislation such as Emir likely to be keenly felt by Asian firms, says Asifma
Demand for Topix options gives dealers hedging headache
Institutional demand for Topix options outweighs supply and is creating basis risk for dealers hedging their positions
Drop in Hong Kong Prada share volume highlights dangers of transaction taxes
Daily turnover in Prada shares listed on Hong Kong Exchange has dropped by over 30% since introduction of Italian financial transaction tax two months ago
Lack of co-ordination of bank resolution regimes behind subsidiarisation push
Asia still behind on global rules forcing subsidiarisation of foreign banks in the region
Mandatory clearing in Hong Kong postponed until January
Banks will have a six-month grace period before they must finally start clearing by July 2014
CNH Hibor fixing to spur interest rate swap market
Launch of the CNH Hibor to lead to an increase in CNH loans and hedging instruments such as floating rate notes and interest rate swaps
Singapore set to be RMB gateway to Asean region
Trade lines
Credit Suisse’s head of Asia equity derivatives sales retires
Min Park, regional head of equity derivatives and convertibles sales, is retiring from his role at Credit Suisse
Asia corporates unfairly ‘penalised’ by CVA capital charge
The move by European authorities to exempt European banks from holding CVA capital should be matched by regulators in Asia, according to senior bankers in the region
Higher Basel III pricing deters Asian banks from issuing new Tier II capital
Banks issued debt before the end-of-2012 deadline for Basel II capital, lessening their refinancing requirements for this year
Rise in CCPs may spur collateral fragmentation
Currency controls
Central clearing obligations cause collateral headaches in Asia
Collateral thinking
China shows signs that it is moving towards opening to hedge funds
China is showing encouraging signs that it is willing to open its market to foreign investors and funds. Hedge funds are still excluded from the market but steps are being taken in the right direction.
Repo markets in Asia set to grow on the back of Basel III
Don't fear the repo
RBI sees developing repo markets necessary in meeting Basel liquidity rules
India central bank views repo as an increasingly important market in the wake of Basel III implementation
Little incentive for China to implement Fatca
The US is pushing to sign up as many countries as possible to an IGA, but for China signing an IGA appears less appealing
OTC derivatives trading for securities companies to take off in China
Pilot programmes by the CSRC to encourage OTC derivatives trading for securities companies in China
Yen threatened by Japan insurers unwinding dollar/yen hedging positions
While foreign hedge funds have been driving down the value of the yen, now Japan insurers may strengthen the trend
Hong Kong retirement funds may be exempt from Fatca
The largest pension schemes in Hong Kong can potentially be exempted from Fatca after being judged by the US to be low risk for tax evasion
CME launches three-year CNH futures contract to meet dim sum bond hedging demand
CME to offer CNH futures from February 25; becomes second provider after HKEx launched CNH futures contract last September
Growing popularity of renminbi heralds more structured products linked to the currency
The renminbi appreciation society
HKMA warns banks not to weaken liquidity profile to benefit from LCR phase-in
Hong Kong regulator to consult banks on new LCR this quarter and assess level playing field implications before deciding on whether to adopt a phased approach