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Strategies & Market Trends : Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RealMuLan who wrote (46359)	2/13/2006 10:15:36 AM
From: shades	Respond to of 116555

=DJ UPDATE:China Shenzhen Devt Bk President Williams Resigns (This updates an item at 1148 GMT with comments from Shenzhen Development Bank's chairman.) BEIJING (Dow Jones)--China's Shenzhen Development Bank Co. (000001.SZ) said Monday its president, Jeffrey Williams, had resigned, but the departure wouldn't impact its operations. The mid-sized lender, China's first domestic bank to be controlled by foreign investors, didn't give a reason for the resignation in a disclosure to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. It said Williams resigned Saturday and his resignation took effect on the same day. Williams became president of the bank in December 2004, when U.S. private-equity firm Newbridge Capital Ltd. became the Shenzhen-listed lender's biggest shareholder by acquiring a 17.89% stake. He previously held positions with Citigroup Inc., American Express Co. and Standard Chartered PLC in Taiwan. Frank Newman, Shenzhen Development Bank's chairman, said the resignation would have little impact on the bank's operations since Newman is also the chief executive. In most companies the president has the chief executive's role. He said William's resignation letter mentioned no specific reason for the move. "There's not going to be an acting President and there's no specific timeline for finding a replacement," Newman said in a telephone interview. Williams and Newman are among a small number of non-Chinese nationals that have served in top management positions at listed Chinese companies. Their appointments marked a further opening of China's banking sector, which is preparing for foreign banks being allowed to compete on an equal footing with Chinese institutions by the end of 2006, as mandated by China's World Trade Organization commitments. Newman said the bank would look for a replacement for Williams within mainland China, but was also open to candidates from Hong Kong and elsewhere. Like many other Chinese banks, Shenzhen Development Bank has been eager to draw in foreign capital. In October, General Electric Co. (GE) and Shenzhen Development Bank signed a deal for the U.S. company's consumer finance unit to pay $100 million for a 7% stake in the Chinese firm. Shenzhen Development Bank's capital adequacy ratio edged up to 3.43% at the end of September from 3.14% at the end of June, but it was still below the 8% minimum required by regulators. Frank Newman is also a director of Dow Jones & Co., the owner of Dow Jones Newswires. -By Rick Carew, Dow Jones Newswires; 8610 6588-5848; rick.carew@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires February 13, 2006 10:12 ET (15:12 GMT)

To: RealMuLan who wrote (46359)	2/13/2006 11:53:02 AM
From: mishedlo	Respond to of 116555

Global: Trade Deficits and Asset Bubbles Stephen Roach (New York) morganstanley.com

To: RealMuLan who wrote (46359)	2/13/2006 1:04:15 PM
From: mishedlo	Respond to of 116555

Mainland fund plans add glitter to gold Gold's four-year uptrend is expected to gain further impetus if China proceeds with plans to launch gold investment funds. Monday, February 13, 2006 Gold's four-year uptrend is expected to gain further impetus if China proceeds with plans to launch gold investment funds. The move would increase market access to one of the world's growing regions of gold consumption and boost sentiment. Analysts say it could possibly be the first of several such funds. "It's going to increase demand and add to the recipe for higher prices," said Alastair McIntyre, director of precious metals at ScotiaMocatta in Hong Kong. China's gold association Thursday revealed plans to issue a one billion yuan (HK$963.9 million) fund through private placement or public offering that will come under China Gold Investment Fund Management. Details are scarce, but the fund is apparently designed to boost liquidity in the market and possibly give local investors access to international gold futures. If successful, it may be the first in a line of similar commodity- investment vehicles. The launch of exchange-traded gold funds in Western markets has given more access to individual and institutional investors, helping drive prices to 25-year highs against a backdrop of building geopolitical and inflationary concerns. Depending on how China's version is structured, it has the potential to tap pent-up demand among larger investors who balk at the risks and complications of physical gold hoarding, traders and analysts said. China's physical gold demand grew to around 12 tonnes last year from just under 10 tonnes in 2004, with indications this year's figure will be higher again, according to London-based precious metals consultancy GFMS. Recently launched retail bank gold products in the country have been well received, with a reported 1.7 tonnes of a gold bar to commemorate Beijing's hosting of the Olympic Games in 2008 sold. "The demand is certainly there, it's just a matter of whether they can funnel it into those funds. I imagine they probably can," said Darren Heathcote, head of trading at Rothschild Australia. However, the fund's impact on global gold markets is likely to boost sentiment - rather than be a key price driver in the way that Barclays Capital's proposed exchange-traded fund for silver is driving prices of that metal. The extent of the sentiment boost depends largely on the fund promoters' ability to gain an exemption from the country's current ban on local institutions investing in international financial markets. Some analysts also question whether domestic investors would be as trusting of an investment vehicle like an ETF in China's evolving market as their counterparts in more established markets in the West. "On the other hand, it makes sense from a prudential regulatory point of view because there are a lot of regulatory issues and this is perhaps one way of cutting out all the middle people," said Jonathan Barratt, head of foreign exchange and metals at Tricom in Sydney. Another factor governing the fund's impact is its size. thestandard.com.hk