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LONDON, June 1 (Reuters) - The London Metal Exchange (LME) is once again looking to shine more light on what lies in the shadows of its warehousing system. The exchange's daily stocks reports offer a rare hard data point in a murky statistical landscape for metal traders. LME stocks are flatlining but is this down to the market or changed market behaviour? Traders will game any system they come up against but the current LME stocks reporting regime makes it too easy. Restoring trust in exchange stocks reporting is a key step in winning back the broader confidence of the market.

Persons: it's, Mark Potter Organizations: London Metal Exchange, Hong Kong Exchanges, HK, Shanghai Futures, Traders, CME, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Malaysia's Port Klang, Singapore, Shanghai

☆ Asian shares inch up as investors brace for China data, Fed speakers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Stella Qiu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The guarded optimism is set to extend to Europe when markets open, with pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures up 0.2%. Both S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures were mostly flat. China is due to report monthly industrial production, retail sales and fixed asset investment data on Tuesday. "However, with China's data throwing up a few concerns of late - we've seen poor import, PPI, and loan data - China's growth is very much at the heart of market moves," said Weston. U.S. crude futures fell 0.6% to $69.61 per barrel, while Brent crude futures were down 0.6% to $73.68 per barrel.

☆ HKEX launches China-Hong Kong Swap Connect to help offshore bond investors hedge
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Signage of the Hong Kong stock exchange in Hong Kong. HKEX has added a new scheme that will connect capital markets in Hong Kong and mainland. Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (HKEX) added a new Connect scheme linking markets in the financial hub with the mainland on Monday, by expanding into onshore interest rate derivatives to help offshore investors in Chinese bonds hedge their exposure. The interest rate Swap Connect scheme would further promote the yuan currency's global status, HKEX CEO Nicolas Aguzin said. Aside from helping offshore investors to manage interest rate risk and lower financing costs, the new scheme would improve efficiency of clearing and capital usage, said Haifeng Xu, deputy chief executive at Bank of China (Hong Kong).

The Shenzhen-listed company, known for its flagship SF Express delivery business, has started preparations for the Hong Kong listing and aims to file the prospectus with the Hong Kong exchange by June, one of the sources said. SF Holding, which has a market value of 267 billion yuan ($38.63 billion), did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. Bloomberg News on Friday first reported SF Holding's listing plans, citing people familiar with the matter. Its express delivery business covers nearly 100 countries overseas including the United States and Japan, according to its 2022 annual report. SF went public in Shenzhen in 2017 and listed two of its units - SF Real Estate Investment Trust (2191.HK) and Hangzhou SF Intra-City Industrial (9699.HK) - in Hong Kong in 2021.

☆ Hong Kong bourse’s profit pop looks passive
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Thomas Shum | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HONG KONG, April 27 (Reuters Breakingviews) - What does a stock exchange operator do when equity markets are weak and interest rates are high? Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (0388.HK) posted a 28% year-on-year profit pop on Wednesday, largely propelled by stellar investment returns as opposed to its core business. Sustained weakness in equities trading and initial public offerings could augur tougher times ahead if transaction volumes don’t come back soon. Though Hong Kong’s IPO pipeline is better than many, with over 90 applications as of the end of March, the issue sizes are restrained. Net profit amounted to HK$3.4 billion ($434 million), up 28% from a year ago, with revenue and other income rising 19% year-on-year to HK$5.56 billion.

☆ Facing fallout from nickel crisis, LME appoints 'interim' chairman
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, April 21 (Reuters) - The London Metal Exchange (LME) said on Friday it had appointed John Williamson, currently a non-executive director, as interim chairman from the end of April, when current Chair Gay Huey Evans steps down. Williamson's appointment comes as the world's largest and oldest metals forum grapples with slumping nickel volumes after the chaos in March 2022 when the LME suspended nickel trading for more than a week. Metal industry sources are surprised that Williamson's appointment is on an interim basis, which they say creates uncertainty during a tumultuous time. The LME declined to comment on why the appointment was on an interim basis. A lawsuit brought by Elliott Associates and Jane Street Global Trading against the LME for cancelling nickel trades will be heard in a London court on June 20-22.

LONDON, April 14 (Reuters) - A year on from the nickel crisis the London Metal Exchange (LME) is still struggling to regain trading momentum. Volumes dropped sharply after the controversial decision to suspend nickel trading and cancel trades. In this subdued metals trading landscape there are currently two unlikely star performers: London lead and Shanghai tin. The Shanghai nickel contract took a big collateral hit from the LME's crisis and volumes remain depressed, down by half year-on-year in the first quarter. ShFE volumes year-on-year change in Q1 2023LEAD GETS INDEX BOOSTERThe two metallic stand-outs in terms of first-quarter trading activity were LME lead and ShFE tin.

☆ CME debuts offshore yuan options to tap rising trading demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Georgina Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, April 3 (Reuters) - Chicago's CME Group (CME.O) opened options trading for Chinese yuan futures on Monday, as it looks to deepen a market that investors use for betting or hedging against moves in China's currency. Hong Kong has offered similar exchange-traded options since 2017, though bringing the product to CME - the world's biggest derivatives exchange - may be a step toward competing with the banks that dominate options by selling directly to customers. "We hope to see liquidity develop there that's comparable to the over-the-counter market," said Tim Brooks, London-based head of FX options at Optiver, which will deal in the new CME derivatives. The CME options have a range of expiry dates from weekly, to monthly or a year and are based on futures contracts with a notional amount of $100,000. CME is a much smaller yuan-trading hub than Hong Kong.

☆ Tencent applies for dual counter trading on Hong Kong exchange
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

March 31 (Reuters) - Tencent Holdings Ltd (0700.HK) said on Friday the video game company has applied for a dual currency counter with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to allow investors to trade its shares in the yuan, in addition to the Hong Kong dollar. The stock exchange said in December it will introduce a new dual counter trading model from the first half of 2023. Other Hong Kong-listed companies such as insurer AIA Group Ltd (1299.HK) have also applied for a dual currency counter with the Hong Kong exchange. The launch of the dual currency counter is aimed at further advancing the internationalisation of the Chinese yuan, the Hong Kong bourse operator said earlier this month. Reporting by Nausheen Thusoo in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak DasguptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Hong Kong makes new rules for specialist tech firm listings, cuts rev threshold
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 24 (Reuters) - The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) said on Friday it had framed new listing rules for specialist technology companies, adopting a lower revenue threshold for these firms set out in earlier proposals. The bourse operator, a unit of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (0388.HK), said it would welcome applications operating in frontier industries, including new energy, robotics, semiconductors, quantum computing, autonomous driving, artificial intelligence and new food and agriculture technologies. A commercialised company should have no less than HK$6 billion ($764.38 million) in market capitalisation, according to the rules, lower than HK$8 billion stipulated in a consultation last October. These rules are designed to retain the attractiveness of Hong Kong's capital markets amid continued geopolitical tensions. ($1 = 7.8495 Hong Kong dollars)Reporting by Poonam Behura in Bangalore and Selena Li in Hong Kong; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

LONDON, March 21 (Reuters) - The London Metal Exchange (LME) has discovered that some of its registered nickel is missing. Bags of stones shouldn't pass any inspection, whether at original load-in or during the annual audit of registered stock required by the LME's warehousing agreement. But it folds into the bigger issues around the exchange's governance and regulatory capacity after the blow-out of the nickel contract this time last year. BROKEN NICKELThe latest scandal will also intensify the question of whether the LME nickel contract is fulfilling the function of efficient price discovery forum. The nickel market was already looking for different pricing solutions before the March 8, 2022 suspension of LME nickel trading.

☆ Middle East pivot to Asia is strategic this time
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Una Galani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Xi Jinping has brokered a deal the United States would have found hard to secure, despite its traditional military influence in the Middle East. The Middle East has trained its financial sights on Asia before. At current rates of growth, emerging Asia will become the top trade partner for the Gulf countries by 2028, per Asia House, surpassing advanced economies. As U.S.-China relations continue to sour, the Asian financial centre is looking to the Middle East to find new foreign companies to trade in the territory. Delegations from the two Middle East countries held talks in Beijing between March 6 and 10, the statement added.

The world's largest and oldest metals market annulled all nickel trades in March last year after chaotic price action and suspended trading for the first time since 1988. "That the FCA has decided to investigate means it considers there are circumstances suggesting that LME may have committed serious misconduct. ACTIVE STEPSThe 146-year-old LME said it had taken active steps to enhance nickel market liquidity and transparency, including 15% daily price limits and over the counter (OTC) position reporting for all physically delivered metals. The FCA and Bank of England began a review last April into the trading halt by the LME, owned by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (0388.HK). In January management consultants Oliver Wyman released an independent review of the nickel trading debacle and the exchange said it would set out an implementation plan for the report's recommendations by the end of March.

☆ We are the window that connects China and the world, says HKEX CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWe are the window that connects China and the world, says HKEX CEONicolas Aguzin, CEO of Hong Kong Exchange and Clearing, says it is doing what it can to ensure there is more interaction and connectivity.

☆ China's $2.5 trillion savings could bring 'opportunities for growth,' HKEX CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesExcess savings from Chinese households could be growth opportunities and will likely bring "active" economic performance for the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, its CEO told CNBC on Thursday. "I think the second and third quarter should be active quarters in terms of economic performance by China," Hong Kong Exchange and Clearing CEO Nicolas Aguzin told CNBC's Emily Tan. He said he sees about $2.5 trillion dollars in excess savings accumulated by Chinese households during Covid. Shares of HKEX gave up gains of more than 1% after the earnings release and closed flat on Thursday. "Macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions led to weak sentiment and softness across the global IPO market," the company said in its earnings release.

☆ Hong Kong spreads its wings, and its bets
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Una Galani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

HONG KONG, Feb 23 (Reuters Breakingviews) - For a sign that Hong Kong’s recovery is more than wishful thinking, look no further than the city’s Disneyland. The house of Mickey Mouse is implicitly betting Hong Kong will soon be back, and bigger than before. At its core, Hong Kong’s unique selling point is that it’s China-by-proxy for investors; enterprises in the People’s Republic account for 78% of the market capitalisation of Hong Kong’s main boards. Against such a backdrop, it’s logical that Hong Kong is trying to spread its bets. Hong Kong exchange boss Nicolas Aguzin’s pitch is strengthened by a Chinese plan to let overseas companies listed in Hong Kong be included in the Connect programme.

☆ Hong Kong can help international investors enter Middle East markets: Former HKEX exec
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailHong Kong can help international investors enter Middle East markets: Former HKEX execJames Fok, an independent consultant who was senior executive at Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing from 2012 to 2021, says Hong Kong must, as a financial center, find a way to complement what Middle Eastern financial centers can already do for themselves.

☆ China's reopening fuels global growth optimism, Davos panel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Arnd WiegmannFRANKFURT, Jan 17 (Reuters) - China's reopening from pandemic restrictions could drive global growth beyond expectations and help avoid a broader recession even as some of the world's largest economies struggle to overcome a downturn, top finance officials at the World Economic Forum said. 'STRONG LABOUR MARKETS'Peterson said he still expected a "very mild" recession in the United States, Europe and the Britain, but full year net growth was still going to be positive. "Strong labour markets are not consistent with what we see with a recession and the labour markets are strong almost everywhere in the world," he added. Credit Suisse Chairman Axel Lehmann said he even hoped the United States could avoid a recession, but he too put his bets on China. "I also think that the economy has been surprising us quarter after quarter; the fourth quarter in Europe will be most likely still positive," Centeno said.

☆ Davos: No recession after all? Business leaders more hopeful as China reopens
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Davos, Switzerland CNN —Bullishness about the global economy has been in short supply among business leaders in recent months, with fears of recession clouding the outlook and restraining investment. That’s thanks in large part to China, whose sudden removal of strict coronavirus restrictions late last year is expected to unleash a wave of spending that may offset economic weakness in the United States and Europe. Near term, China is in the grip of its worst coronavirus outbreak, keeping many people indoors and emptying shops and restaurants in recent weeks. “I’m expecting a solid growth number for China in 2023,” said Kevin Rudd, president of the Asia Society and a former prime minister of Australia. “Maybe we will be surprised also in the first half of the year.”Averting a global recession is not a done deal, however.

☆ Olam’s Saudi-Singapore IPO sign of shifting times
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, Jan 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Signs of deepening ties between Asia and the oil-rich Gulf are coming thick and fast. A planned Saudi Arabia-Singapore dual listing this year for Olam Agri, a trader of grains and seeds, is the latest example. Corporate and financial moves underscore how the global pin-code, as Olam’s co-founder and Chief Executive Sunny Verghese puts it, is changing. Between population trends, the Russia-Ukraine war and polarising geopolitics, expect the Gulf and Asia to get cosier. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

LONDON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - March 2022 will go down in the history books as the moment the global nickel market broke down. The search is on for a new nickel price discovery process. Global Commodities Holdings (GCH) thinks it has a solution, a blast from the LME's own distant past that could have far-reaching consequences for industrial metals trading. This is self-evidently true of the LME nickel contract, which simply could not absorb the scale of short positions accumulated by China's Tsingshan Group. It may not just be nickel players keeping a close eye on GCH's proposed new metals pricing solution.

☆ British court set to hear demand for evidence over LME nickel crisis
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The other claimants in the filing at the London Commercial Court were Winton Capital Management, Capstone Investment Advisors, Flow Traders (FLOW.AS) and DRW Commodities. The exchange, the world's oldest and largest market for industrial metals, has rejected the legal action as without merit. The LME is also facing lawsuits from U.S. hedge fund Elliott Associates and Jane Street Global Trading, which are suing the LME for $456 million and $15.3 million, respectively, for the cancelled nickel trades. British financial regulators launched a sweeping investigation in April of the suspension of nickel trading while the LME also commissioned its own independent review of the matter. Reporting by Eric Onstad and Nell Mackenzie in London Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ CSOP bitcoin futures ETF closes higher in Hong Kong debut
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Georgina Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HONG KONG, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Hong Kong's first bitcoin and ether futures exchange traded funds (ETFs) ended their first trading day higher on Friday, reflecting investors' interest despite the broader crypto market meltdown. The CSOP Bitcoin Futures ETF (3066.HK) closed up 0.5% at HK$7.81 per unit, while the CSOP Ether Futures ETF ended 0.4% higher at HK$7.805. Both ETFs had opened flat compared to their estimated net asset values, both at HK$7.77 per unit. Among the two, the bitcoin futures ETF attracted more trading volume, as a total of 937,200 units worth HK$7.3 million changed hands. ($1 = 7.7777 Hong Kong dollars)Reporting by Georgina Lee; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Amid crypto turmoil, Hong Kong debuts first crypto futures ETFs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Georgina Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Two exchange traded funds (ETF) that track U.S.-listed cryptocurrency futures have raised a combined $73.6 million ahead of their debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday in defiance of the sector's meltdown. Cryptocurrencies have endured months of turmoil, with the collapse of crypto exchange FTX the latest blow to the sector. The larger of the two, CSOP Bitcoin Futures ETF (3066.HK), pulled in $53.9 million, according to the manager. "Coming after the recent liquidity problems affecting some of the crypto platforms, our two crypto futures ETFs demonstrate that Hong Kong remains open-minded on the development of virtual assets," said Yi Wang, head of quantitative investment at CSOP. On Friday, each lot trading on the Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (HKEX) (0388.HK) will debut at HK$780 each.

HONG KONG, Dec 12 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Hong Kong’s bankers and officials fantasise about the moment China finally ditches its Covid-19 restrictions. Mainland Chinese firms account for eight of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing’s (0388.HK) ten largest ever IPOs. It remains faster for Chinese companies to list in Hong Kong, rather than join the long queue on the mainland. Hong Kong could also host more offerings from places like the Middle East and Southeast Asia, as Cha envisions. IPOs on the Hong Kong exchange have raised $7.1 billion so far in 2022, according to Refinitiv data for the year up to Dec. 7.

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