Hong Kong is a major international financial center and a regional hub for institutional buy-side firms. Their presence in Asia, coupled with the growth of hedging strategies, has led to an increase in algorithmic trading in the region. Gabe Butler, Hong Kong-based director of sales and trading for New York agency brokerage Investment Technology Group… Read the rest

SHANGHAI — In the first 10 months of 2006, Chinese regulators uncovered 776 banking crimes, including 205 cases involving more than 1 million yuan ($125,000 U.S.). Fraud and other irregularities at Chinese banks added up to $95.9 billion in 2005, an increase of 31% from 2004, according to the China Banking Regulatory Commission.
In one… Read the rest

Chinese insurance companies were bracing for an onslaught by global competitors last month when a commitment to the World Trade Organization dictated opening the borders to foreign competition.
“Almost all insurance business is opening to foreign insurers,” says Xiaolin Li, a dean at Beijing-based Central University of Finance and Economics. “The exceptions are group insurance… Read the rest

Late spring 2005, the world learned that a crime ring that included call center employees of an Indian outsourcing company stole more than $300,000 from Citibank customers by tricking callers into giving up their PIN numbers.
The news sent shockwaves through the industry, as India was the premier destination for business process outsourcing in the… Read the rest

The number of Chinese securitization projects has almost doubled this spring. The sudden burst of activity brought the total number of securities industry securitization projects up to seven – but lagging legislation is hindering the growth of this market in the securities industry.
In the banking industry last year, two of China’s biggest banks –… Read the rest

Netherlands-based ABN Amro has established the first joint-venture futures brokerage in China in a partnership with China Galaxy Securities Co. of Beijing, the country’s biggest brokerage in terms of assets.
ABN Amro Holdings will own 40 percent of the new company, which is allowed to serve Chinese customers trading commodities futures. “It is a major… Read the rest

In the latest of a series of Chinese market modernization moves, investors in stocks on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges as of July 1 will be able to borrow money or securities from brokerages and to buy and sell single stocks on the same day.
The new regulation, published last Monday, “will energize the market… Read the rest

The China Construction Bank privatization project, recently approved by the Chinese government, may become the first true loan securitization in China. As the sole advisor, Standard Chartered gains both experience and credibility in the marketplace, building on an existing track record in the country.
Headed by Warren Lee, the Standard Chartered team working on the… Read the rest

In the spring of 2004, China’s largest commercial bank struck a deal with Credit Suisse First Boston, CITIC Securities and China Credit Trust to securitize a portfolio of RMB2.6 billion ($322 million) in non-performing loans.
The loans originated by the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China’s Ningbo branch.
It was a ground breaking deal in… Read the rest

China’s securitization market finally reached a new maturity level this fall, with new participants and new deal structures. The watershed moment was September’s listing of asset-backed securities from China Unicom on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Additionally, two bank-based pilot projects are expected.
The two banks, China Construction Bank and China Development Bank, received government approval… Read the rest