First-quarter investment in stocks by China’s trust companies was more than double that of a year before, for a total of about RMB777 billion (US$125.3 billion), Bloomberg reported, citing data released by the China Trustee Association. RMB225 billion of that came in the first quarter alone. Many investors have turned to umbrella trusts, which receive […]
Category: Banking & Finance
Authorities in at least five cities have begun accepting local-government bonds as collateral for cash deposits at commercial banks without explicit consent from national policy makers, in the hopes the new benefit can boost demand for a swap program meant to transfer massive off-balance-sheet bank loans into lower-cost bonds, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources. Only […]
High-frequency trading firm Virtu Financial (VIRT.NASDAQ) is seeking a partner in China and looking into the possibility of trading currencies and commodities there, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing Chief Executive Officer Douglas Cifu. Singapore state investment firm Temasek Holdings, which owns about 10% of Virtu, was providing it with introductions to potential partners, Cifu […]
Beijing has approved 32 foreign firms to invest in China’s domestic bond market in a move that pushes forward regulators’ long, slow drive to make the yuan a reserve currency, The Financial Times reported. The People’s Bank of China had previously issued rules in 2013 allowing institutions approved for investment in mainland stock markets to […]
Growing interconnectedness with China’s stock markets has greatly shifted the risk profile of shadow banking even as traditional bank lending accounted for a greater share of the country’s total financing in March, South China Morning Post reported, citing Moody’s Investors Service. “What we are fairly confident about is that securities companies are raising funds through what […]