By Eleni Himaras and Stephanie Tong
July 22 (Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong, Asia’s second-biggest stock market, may see 25 percent of its local brokerages close as trading and fees plunge, and competition from banks intensifies, a securities association said.
The number of local broking firms may decline to 300 from about 400 in the next five years, Mofiz Chan, a spokesman of the Hong Kong Securities & Futures Professionals Association, said in a telephone interview.
“There are many people taking part-time jobs or completely moving out of the industry,” Chan said. “Many of our members have needed to shift into other jobs such as security, taxi drivers or tutors for primary school students.”
Fees have dropped since bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. in 2003 removed a brokerage commission floor of 0.25 percent of the value of transactions, squeezing profits for brokers as mainland Chinese rivals expand operations. The competition has claimed foreign equity traders, with South Korea’s Mirae Asset Securities Co. and Japan’s Daiwa Securities Group Inc., among brokerages that have cut jobs.
Eleven brokerages have ceased trading this year, according to filings posted on the website of the Hong Kong stock exchange. King Fook Securities Co., established in 1971, said it will close at the end of this month.
“King Fook Securities was one of the founding members of the stock exchange before it became listed,” parent King Fook Holdings Ltd. said in an e-mailed reply to questions. “We’ve been seeking to keep operating despite booking losses. High rentals and labour costs, together with the fact that banks are offering zero commission have made it difficult for us to survive.”...
The above is part of a Bloomberg article on the pathetic state of the stockbroking industry. And the Hongkong Govt is not thinking that this is bad and is not doing anything about it. The crippled stockbroking industry is already limping and now the unfair competition by the banks, using their strategic advantage to offer no commission for trading is allowed to go on. Where is the anti unfair competition authority in Hongkong to stop such hideous and unfair practices? For the benefits of a few big funds, and the bottomline of the Exchange, the authorities and regulators are willing to allow them to dictate how the stockbroking system should operate and leading to its eventual collapse.
None of these jokers bothers to look ahead and ask what would happen if the stockbroking industry goes kaput? A dead or critically ill stockbroking industry will severely affect the whole banking and finance industry and other related industries and many jobs.
The Singapore stockbroking industry is having a mirror image of its counterpart in Hongkong. And it is likely and highly probable that the Singapore industry will turn turtle ahead of Hongkong. Singapore is much smaller and there are fewer broking houses and fewer remisiers in the industry. And many are barely making enough for their pocket money.
Maybe it is already a known fact that the stockbroking industry is dying and there is nothing worth saving this industry. Let it be, let it die. Can Hongkong and Singapore still be financial centres with sick or non existence stock markets? Is the stock market a vital pillar to the whole financial set up or unnecessary and as long as the banks prosper, there is no need for stock markets?
7/23/2013
India to call on millions of non-residents to defend rupee
By Manoj Kumar
NEW DELHI
Mon Jul 22,
(Reuters) - India is considering calling on its millions of non-resident citizens to help reverse a record slide in the rupee and does not favour the idea of a global sovereign bond at this time, senior government officials told Reuters on Monday.
However, the government strongly denied having ruled out a sovereign bond issue and said in a statement that "all options are on the table".
The officials, who spoke earlier on condition of anonymity, said India was running out of options and time to revive the currency and fund a record current account deficit but equally policymakers were wary of sending any distress signals to international markets.
Issuing a global bond might send such a signal, so instead policymakers will focus on attracting funds from Indians living abroad, such as by raising deposit rates in India or issuing bonds specifically designed for them - repeating measures carried out in 1998 and 2000 to steady a weak rupee.
The officials declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of discussing government deliberations. They were not immediately reachable for further comment….
India has the second-largest diaspora in the world, with a community estimated at more than 25 million, the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs says….
The Indian Govt is desperate to defend the weakening rupee and is expecting some help from the Indian diaspora around the world. One key factor that is leading the Indian Govt to this crisis is the lack of finance talents in India. Practically all their banking and finance talents are in the US and Europe and of course in Singapore. This is a costly brain drain, depleting whatever talents India has. It is now paying a price for losing its own talents who are out there helping the countries around the world to manage their finance and bankings.
How many of these finance talents are going to return to India to give a helping hand? Throwing some money back is not going to do much good. What India really needs is to bring back some of these top talents to save the country.
Singapore is so fortunate to benefit from India’s despair. We are taking too many of India’s talents to help us grow into the First World. Singaporeans should be very grateful for this and maybe Singapore should reciprocate in some ways to help India. Maybe we can loan some of the ex Indian Singaporean finance experts to get India over this crisis. For a start, a true blue Singaporean, the recently retired Dhanabalan, can be loan to the Indian Govt as Special Economic and Finance Adviser Emeritus.
NEW DELHI
Mon Jul 22,
(Reuters) - India is considering calling on its millions of non-resident citizens to help reverse a record slide in the rupee and does not favour the idea of a global sovereign bond at this time, senior government officials told Reuters on Monday.
However, the government strongly denied having ruled out a sovereign bond issue and said in a statement that "all options are on the table".
The officials, who spoke earlier on condition of anonymity, said India was running out of options and time to revive the currency and fund a record current account deficit but equally policymakers were wary of sending any distress signals to international markets.
Issuing a global bond might send such a signal, so instead policymakers will focus on attracting funds from Indians living abroad, such as by raising deposit rates in India or issuing bonds specifically designed for them - repeating measures carried out in 1998 and 2000 to steady a weak rupee.
The officials declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of discussing government deliberations. They were not immediately reachable for further comment….
India has the second-largest diaspora in the world, with a community estimated at more than 25 million, the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs says….
The Indian Govt is desperate to defend the weakening rupee and is expecting some help from the Indian diaspora around the world. One key factor that is leading the Indian Govt to this crisis is the lack of finance talents in India. Practically all their banking and finance talents are in the US and Europe and of course in Singapore. This is a costly brain drain, depleting whatever talents India has. It is now paying a price for losing its own talents who are out there helping the countries around the world to manage their finance and bankings.
How many of these finance talents are going to return to India to give a helping hand? Throwing some money back is not going to do much good. What India really needs is to bring back some of these top talents to save the country.
Singapore is so fortunate to benefit from India’s despair. We are taking too many of India’s talents to help us grow into the First World. Singaporeans should be very grateful for this and maybe Singapore should reciprocate in some ways to help India. Maybe we can loan some of the ex Indian Singaporean finance experts to get India over this crisis. For a start, a true blue Singaporean, the recently retired Dhanabalan, can be loan to the Indian Govt as Special Economic and Finance Adviser Emeritus.
My rejected letter from ST Forum
“From recent media reports on the AHPETC dispute, it is still not possible to make a judgement on the integrity, or otherwise, of the parties involved.
Can the Government detail the incontrovertible evidence, step by step, to support their position. Can the WP do likewise.
The parties to the dispute are not accountable to the other but to the citizens of Singapore. So, just present the evidence (with explanations as needed but no judgements) so that Singaporeans can judge for themselves on one or more of the outcomes below.
1) The incontrovertible evidence on dishonesty are what they are stated to be.
2) There is room for misunderstanding in the dispute.
3) The crux of dispute boils down to “A said this” and “B said that” without each being able to prove the other wrong.”
Hwang Teng Aun
The above letter by Hwang Teng Aun was posted in TRE. He said ‘It was not published even though two letters on the matter, more demanding of the WP, were published in Forum page later that week.’ This is likely to be the trend when letters sent to the main media were not published and they would then turn to the social media as the alternative source. If more of such cases keep happening, soon it will become habitual for forumers to just go to social media to be sure that their letters are posted.
Is this undesirable, bad, not right?
Sinkies lack humour
Lim Swee Say is perhaps the most engaging and down to earth minister in the cabinet. He always tries to put across his points in a light hearted manner, funny, humorous and effective. Given his academic brilliance, he could easily speak sikit atas, using all the flowery and bombastic words that he is more than capable of. But he tries very hard to be like the people, speaks the people’s lingo, shares their little fancies and distractions in life.
Unfortunately his attempts to connect with the people, his role as the union chief makes this even more important, to be able to relate to the people, is somehow not appreciated and misunderstood.
There is a post in TRE about Swee Say’s regular visits to Din Tai Fung, the famous Michellin class restaurant, and how he appreciates the little good things in life, just like the common people. He explained why he liked the good quality toothpicks of the restaurant and used to take half a pack back for his personal use. He explained that the toothpicks were of very fine quality and well designed. Swee Say could be boasting about how he ordered the most expensive items that money can buy, as he has a lot I am sure. But that would make him look snobbish and would not go down well with the proletariat, the workers he works with.
Instead, he talks about taking half a pack of toothpicks which the ordinary people like all of us are used to doing. It is the personal touch that he is like one of us. But from the nearly 100 comments it seems again his nice gesture is frown upon. Practically everyone is criticizing him as if he has done something wrong. Some even want to buy him toothpicks as if he cannot afford it. Come, come, Swee Say can buy enough toothpicks to go around the world a million times.
Where is your sense of humour, Sinkies? Enjoy and share the fun and jokes of the minister. He is trying very hard to connect and the people just do not appreciate his effort. Smile when he cracks his next joke and you could be rewarded with more jokes from him. Don’t take life so seriously. Politics is not just about power. Politics can also be fun.
Did anyone get Swee Say’s message? Good service is in the details.
Unfortunately his attempts to connect with the people, his role as the union chief makes this even more important, to be able to relate to the people, is somehow not appreciated and misunderstood.
There is a post in TRE about Swee Say’s regular visits to Din Tai Fung, the famous Michellin class restaurant, and how he appreciates the little good things in life, just like the common people. He explained why he liked the good quality toothpicks of the restaurant and used to take half a pack back for his personal use. He explained that the toothpicks were of very fine quality and well designed. Swee Say could be boasting about how he ordered the most expensive items that money can buy, as he has a lot I am sure. But that would make him look snobbish and would not go down well with the proletariat, the workers he works with.
Instead, he talks about taking half a pack of toothpicks which the ordinary people like all of us are used to doing. It is the personal touch that he is like one of us. But from the nearly 100 comments it seems again his nice gesture is frown upon. Practically everyone is criticizing him as if he has done something wrong. Some even want to buy him toothpicks as if he cannot afford it. Come, come, Swee Say can buy enough toothpicks to go around the world a million times.
Where is your sense of humour, Sinkies? Enjoy and share the fun and jokes of the minister. He is trying very hard to connect and the people just do not appreciate his effort. Smile when he cracks his next joke and you could be rewarded with more jokes from him. Don’t take life so seriously. Politics is not just about power. Politics can also be fun.
Did anyone get Swee Say’s message? Good service is in the details.
The uncanny timing to perfection
Many of you who need to switch trains at the Jurong East terminal must have noticed this. Just as the train you were in was coming to a stop at the station you must have felt so glad that there was another train waiting on the other line to continue your journey. Perfect timing. Such efficiency must be acknowledged as it makes train connection so smooth and pleasant for the commuters.
Then the annoying and dastard thing will happen. As the doors of your train opened, the doors of the waiting train would close. For those commuters who dashed across the platform they would only see the train moving away, leaving them behind to wait for the next train. Perfect timing every time.
The good thing now is that with the free trips in the morning, this is now a thing of the past. The whole platform would be so crowded that it would take three or more trains before one could hop on to the train. The agony of seeing an empty train moving away when you alighted is replaced by the agony of a full platform of commuters and more waiting time.
There is another uncanny perfect timing incident that happened recently arising from the haze problem. The City was covered by haze for about a week and getting hold of a face mask was top priority. We got our face masks with compliments from the thoughtful company. And an interesting remark was made at that very moment. ‘The haze is going away.’ The issue of the mask was the sign that it would not be needed any more, just like when we were issued with a personal thermometer during the SARS crisis. After receiving the thermometer, the crisis subsided.
I think many people got their face masks just in time for the haze to go away. I am sure the 200,000 who got their face masks free too did not have the privilege to put them on. The sky is clear the next day!
Uncanny perfect timing ya. Lesson learnt. If they want a crisis to go away, do the necessary, like issuing the masks quickly, and the crisis will go away as it will always do. And the reason why the dengue problem is not going away is that they have not issue insect repellant to every household.
Then the annoying and dastard thing will happen. As the doors of your train opened, the doors of the waiting train would close. For those commuters who dashed across the platform they would only see the train moving away, leaving them behind to wait for the next train. Perfect timing every time.
The good thing now is that with the free trips in the morning, this is now a thing of the past. The whole platform would be so crowded that it would take three or more trains before one could hop on to the train. The agony of seeing an empty train moving away when you alighted is replaced by the agony of a full platform of commuters and more waiting time.
There is another uncanny perfect timing incident that happened recently arising from the haze problem. The City was covered by haze for about a week and getting hold of a face mask was top priority. We got our face masks with compliments from the thoughtful company. And an interesting remark was made at that very moment. ‘The haze is going away.’ The issue of the mask was the sign that it would not be needed any more, just like when we were issued with a personal thermometer during the SARS crisis. After receiving the thermometer, the crisis subsided.
I think many people got their face masks just in time for the haze to go away. I am sure the 200,000 who got their face masks free too did not have the privilege to put them on. The sky is clear the next day!
Uncanny perfect timing ya. Lesson learnt. If they want a crisis to go away, do the necessary, like issuing the masks quickly, and the crisis will go away as it will always do. And the reason why the dengue problem is not going away is that they have not issue insect repellant to every household.
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