Asia BrokerDealers Ramp Up For More ETFs

Posted on March 20, 2015 by admin

Brokerdealer.com blog update profiles brokerdealers’ push for a more diversified market in Hong Kong. In an effort to listen to the brokerdealers and diversify the market, Hong Kong’s Securities & Futures Commission is looking into allowing more off shore ETFs. An extract from AsianInvestor article, “SFC mulls more foreign ETF listings in HK” tells us more.

Hong Kong’s Securities & Futures Commission (SFC) is considering allowing more offshore ETFs, including from the US to be cross-listed in Hong Kong.

The move comes amid calls by some industry players from Hong Kong to diversify its ETF business, because the product range at present is predominantly Greater-China focused.

A senior executive in the ETF business told AsisanInvestor that the SFC that set up a working group to look into expanding the scope of the ETF industry and further developing int. It reached out to individual fund managers towards the end of last year to solicit interest on cross-listing their offshore ETFs in Hong Kong.

The senior executive said their group was interested in listing its American ETF in Hong Kong, but the decision hinges on the SFC and will involve a change in regulatory policy.

To read the full article from AsianInvestor, click here.

Investors Bet Billions As BrokerDealers Get Smart With Xiaomi

Posted on December 22, 2014 by admin

Brokerdealer.com blog update courtesy of The Wall Street Journal

xiaomi-9 Chinese smartphone maker has raised more than $1 billion in its latest round of funding, making it one the fastest growing tech start-up of the year. In the latest round of funding BrokerDealers
are have been an essential part in the company raising so much funds as The Wall Street Journal’s Juro Osawa explains below.

Xiaomi Corp. is raising more than $1 billion in its latest round of funding, valuing the fast-growing Chinese smartphone maker at more than $45 billion and making the company one of the most valuable technology startups in the world, a person familiar with the matter said.

The round, which could close as early as Monday, is led by All-Stars Investment, a tech investment fund run by former Morgan Stanley analyst Richard Ji, the person said. Other participants in the round include Russian investment firm DST Global and Singapore sovereign-wealth fund GIC, which are both already shareholders of Xiaomi.

Yunfeng Capital, a private-equity firm affiliated with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Executive Chairman Jack Ma , is also participating in the round, the source said. The person declined to say how many shares will be sold in the latest round.

A Xiaomi spokesman declined to comment.

The $45 billion-plus valuation puts Xiaomi above most other Silicon Valley and Asian technology startups. Earlier this month, U.S. ride-sharing service Uber Technologies Inc. said a new round of funding valued it at $41 billion.

The surge in Xiaomi’s valuation over the past year indicates just how high expectations are as the company expands its business outside China, mainly in emerging markets where there is robust demand for inexpensive smartphones.

In its previous round of funding in August 2013, Xiaomi was valued at $10 billion.

Xiaomi, founded by Lei Jun in 2010, has grown rapidly to become the top-selling smartphone vendor in China by offering affordable phones with features rivaling high-end models. Xiaomi phones come with a customized version of Google Inc. ’s Android operating system, and the company often updates the software based on requests from users.

For the entire Wall Street Journal article, click here

Fortune Cookie Says: Outlook Bright For Asia BrokerDealers

Posted on December 3, 2014December 3, 2014 by admin

Brokerdealer.com blog update with coverage of the Asian Market courtesy of ETF Trends’ Todd Shriber

Following some bullish data points that boosted sentiment during Tuesday’s Asian session, exchange traded funds offering access to China’s onshore A-shares markets are soaring Tuesday.

With local investors warming to equities over property, Goldman Sachs forecasts an estimated 400 billion yuan will depart China’s property market next year with the destination being A-shares equities.

“The Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index(symbol: SHCOMP, +3.11%) is showing the largest positive risk adjusted return across regions and assets. In absolute terms, the SHCOMP increased by the most in 15-months and extended its YTD performance to over 30%,” said Rareview Macro founder Neil Azous in a research note out Tuesday.

News that home sales in China’s 54 largest metro areas surged nearly 9% last month is fueling gains for already high-flying U.S.-listed A-shares ETFs.

After ranking as one of November’s top-performing non-leveraged ETFs, the Deutsche X-trackers Harvest CSI 300 China A-Shares Fund (NYSEArca: ASHR), the largest U.S.-listed A-shares ETF, is higher by 5.5% today on volume that has already exceeded the daily average. Joining ASHR in the all-time high club is the KraneShares Bosera MSCI China A-Shares ETF (NYSEArca: KBA), which is higher by 4.7% on volume that is more than 30 times above the daily average.

ASHR and KBA are two of just 11 ETFs to hit all-time highs to this point in Tuesday’s session.

The Market Vectors ChinaAMC A-Share ETF (NYSEArca: PEK), the oldest U.S.-listed A-shares ETF, is soaring by 5.4% on heavy volume and is trading at its highest levels in nearly three and a half years. Although the A-shares ETFs do not feature the excessive financial services sector exposure found in the iShares China Large-Cap ETF (NYSEArca: FXI), the trio is still levered to investor sentiment to China’s largest financial services firms. The average weight to the financial services sector across ASHR, KBA and PEK is 38.7%.

“Trading values in the Shanghai Composite rose to a record 401.6 billion yuan ($65.3 billion) last week, boosting the profit outlook of brokerages relying on trading commissions as the main source of their revenue,” according to Azous.

For the entire article from ETFtrends.com please click here