http://www.complinet.com/ Complinet Complete Asia-Pacific RSS feed en Complinet Limited en Complinet Limited http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129927 Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission has revoked the licenses of three broker account managers for interference and unauthorised actions on clients' accounts. The SEC revoked the licence of Porntip Thongchaicharoensiri, a former investor contact at ACL Securities Co., for five years, and issued a one-year probation for Surawadee Sriprasert and Nopakun Wongratana. The SEC said Porntip had traded a client's securities without being ordered to do so, and interfered with the client's account. She had sold the client's securities in order to gain a sufficient credit line for herself to trade securities through the client account for her own benefit, it noted. She also signed on behalf of the client on transaction confirmation documents, thus covering up her "unprofessional and dishonest acts" from back office. The SEC said her actions were in violation of clause 14(1) and (2) of the "Notification of the Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission No. SorKhor. 49/2552 Re: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:51:32 GMT http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129927 2010-03-12T00:51:32Z http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129923 More than 70 international regulators and industry figures met in Sydney this morning to discuss the G20's plans to extend regulation to credit default swaps and a raft of securitised products. The meeting, which was part of IOSCO's work on unregulated financial markets, looked at the best ways to bring regulatory oversight to products that were instrumental in the global financial crisis. Governments worldwide have been putting pressure on the financial sector to come up with an appropriate oversight model to deal with the excesses seen during the GFC. IOSCO, as a forum for regulators and industry figures, has been keen to spearhead this work which it believes will prevent a "knee-jerk reaction" from regulators. Greg Medcraft, a commissioner at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, has been a central figure in the securitisation industry during his 30 years in the investment banking industry prior to joining the regulator. He said that today's meeting was a good opportunity Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:42:04 GMT http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129923 2010-03-12T00:42:04Z http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129918 One in five audits conducted by the nation's major accounting firms delivers an opinion that the auditor cannot verify, according to a review by the corporate regulator that calls for broad improvements in practices. An inspection of auditors by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has detailed systemic problems within the sector, including a widespread failure of auditors to perform "mandatory" procedures. ASIC reviewed 95 audits conducted by 19 major Australian firms categorised as "national" or "network" firms. Of the audits conducted by national firms — global firms with national partnerships such as the big four accounting firms — one in 10 did not hold sufficient audit evidence to support all "key conclusions" made by the auditor. For "network" firms — those firms operating as individual offices under the banner of international brands — a massive 30 per cent of audits failed to support key conclusions. "There (are) cases where the necessary audit evidence Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:32:44 GMT http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129918 2010-03-12T00:32:44Z http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129921 About 15,000 wealthy customers of HSBC's private Swiss bank had their financial data stolen three years ago by a former employee. The bank said yesterday that it knew of the theft in 2006, but did not know which customers were affected until earlier this month. HSBC said it had examined the accounts of customers whose data was stolen and did not think any of them had suffered any losses as a result of the theft. The bank said the theft case involved existing clients who had accounts with HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) in Switzerland before October 2006. Clients outside the Swiss branch were not affected. Many wealthy individuals in Hong Kong use Swiss private banking services. HSBC said an unnamed former information technology employee carried out the theft three years ago. He had tried to sell the stolen information but failed. The bank said Swiss authorities earlier this month returned the stolen data files to HSBC, which showed that client information had been compromised. Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:22:17 GMT http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129921 2010-03-12T00:22:17Z http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129922 Beijing plans to set up a registration system to help monitor people with knowledge of merger and acquisition transactions in listed companies, an effort to curb insider trading. Industry employees who know about unannounced asset restructurings and acquisition moves of listed companies will be required to register with the securities regulator, according to Ouyang Zehua, a deputy director at the China Securities Regulatory Commission. Ouyang said the CSRC would join the country's law-enforcement departments, including the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Supervision, to establish the system. "The system will cover all the links in the chain where people could access the unannounced information and profit from it through share trading," he was quoted by the official China Securities Journal as saying. Ouyang admitted the regulator faced an uphill task in cracking down on insider trading. He did not elaborate on who would be the main targets of the new system. Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:18:41 GMT http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129922 2010-03-12T00:18:41Z http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129919 China issued a provisionary measure on the management of financing guarantee companies on Monday, the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) said on Wednesday. According to the measure, the registered capital of the financing guarantee companies should be no less than five million yuan. Additionally, the companies are prohibited from conducting certain business such as collecting deposits and granting loans. CBRC officials said that financing guarantee companies can use their own capital to invest in fixed-income financial products such as Treasury bonds, financial bonds, and corporate bonds, on the basis that they focus on guarantee services, their core business. Investments in securities, funds, and real estate should be no more than 20 percent of their total net assets. According to the measure, the companies should reserve half of their annual guarantee fee income as provisions for unmatured obligations. Also, they should have no less than one per cent of their outstanding Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:18:00 GMT http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129919 2010-03-12T00:18:00Z http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129920 Ian Rau, the former secretary of Chartwell Enterprises, has pleaded guilty to charges of dishonest conduct brought in relation to a $22m investment fraud. Rau entered a plea of guilty in relation to two counts of using a false document and one count of dishonest conduct after a three-day committal hearing in the Geelong Magistrates' Court. Rau also informed the court of his intention to plead guilty to other charges bought by ASIC once a properly worded indictment is prepared. The magistrate committed Rau to stand trial in the Supreme Court of Victoria on a date to be fixed. Rau was bailed with conditions to appear in the Supreme Court of Victoria on 26 March 2010 for a directions hearing. Rau was committed to stand trial on the following offences: carrying on a financial services business without a financial services license (1 count); engaging in dishonest conduct in relation to financial services (9 counts); falsifying documents (2 counts); obtaining a financial advantage Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:01:31 GMT http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129920 2010-03-12T00:01:31Z http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129855 If all proposed regulatory changes currently on the table were implemented at the same time, banks' profitability would be decimated and return on equity would plummet to unacceptable levels, the Retail Banking in Europe conference heard. Carla Antunes da Silva, bank analyst at JP Morgan, told the conference in Milan that increased capital requirements were only one piece of the jigsaw. If all of the regulatory measures currently being considered were applied simultaneously, the effect on estimated 2011 profits would be a fall of around 30 per cent. Return on equity would be slashed from 5.4 per cent to just 1.3 per cent. "This is unacceptable as it is well below the cost of equity," said Antunes da Silva. She said such a fall would make it almost impossible for banks to attract private capital. In such circumstances, governments would have no choice but to continue to support the banks, which ran contrary to their intentions to allow certain institutions to fail in the future, she Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:44:00 GMT http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129855 2010-03-11T06:44:00Z http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129879 Approaching IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) through a converged set of accounting standards, as announced by India, is a highly inconsistent but alternative line of thinking, observes T. P. Ghosh, Professor in the Institute of Management Technology, Dubai International Academic City, UAE ( www. imtdubai.ac.ae). For starters, it may help to know why there is a growing interest among all capital market participants, including the SEC in the US, for accepting a single set of robust accounting standards. Many multinational companies and national regulators and users support global standards because they believe that the use of common standards in the preparation of public company financial statements will make it easier to compare the financial results of reporting entities from different countries, explains Ghosh, in the course of a recent interaction with Business Line over the phone and email. "They believe it will help investors to understand opportunities better. Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129879 2010-03-11T04:00:00Z http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129884 In a bid to keep up with international developments and limit excessive risk-taking, the China Banking Regulatory Commission has issued a set of guidelines on executive remuneration at commercial banks and financial leasing companies. The CBRC said its set of guidelines was in compliance with the "Principles for Sound Compensation Practices and the Implementation Standards", issued by the Financial Stability Board last year, and was intended to limit excessive risk-taking in the financial sector and help build a "socialist harmonious society". The regulator noted that the country's ministry of finance had issued regulations on the subject of senior management's remuneration last year, as well as a policy statement last month calling for an audit of top executives' pay. While these had a more "ideological" tone, they had laid the groundwork for the current, more technical guidelines issued by the CBRC, it said in a note on its web site. Strengthening the supervision of pay in the Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:33:29 GMT http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129884 2010-03-11T01:33:29Z http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129877 ASIC's takeover of market supervision is set to go ahead in the third quarter of this year, as planned, after the Senate passed the relevant legislation today. The transfer of real-time market supervision from the Australian Securities Exchange to ASIC is now a mere formality, with the upper house approving the legislation without any major amendments. The securities regulator plans to turn on its new SMARTS trade monitoring system in early July, with the formal transfer of powers taking place at some point during the third quarter of 2010. The Corporations Amendment (Financial Market Supervision) Bill 2010 will give ASIC the authority to supervise all domestic financial markets, create new market rules and give the regulator a range of new enforcement powers. The bill, which will put an end to the ASX's real-time market supervision role, will pave the way for the government to approve market licence applications from the likes of AXE-ECN, Liquidnet and Chi-X. The decision has effectively Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:23:55 GMT http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129877 2010-03-11T01:23:55Z http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129873 The Australian corporate regulator has sent a shot across the bows of the auditing profession after finding that many auditors were failing to keep the necessary records to support their findings in "significant judgement" areas. During its latest round of audit inspections the Australian Securities and Investments Commission found that that auditors were continuing to be non-compliant when it came to collecting evidence and documentation. The regulator said that in some instances it believed the necessary audit evidence was obtained but not documented. It was most concerned, however, about cases where the evidence to support an audit opinion was never established. ASIC has warned that even if the audited financial report is accurate, by not collecting the necessary evidence auditors cannot show that they have a basis for their opinions. "There continues to be a need for improvement by all firms, particularly in the areas of audit evidence and documentation, reliance on another auditors' Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:53:45 GMT http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129873 2010-03-11T00:53:45Z http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129874 The Singapore Exchange has announced several additions to its membership network and range of products, as well as a memorandum of understanding with its Indian counterpart to develop a market for India-linked products. The exchange said the new developments were part of its plan to strengthen the financial centre's reputation as a gateway to Asia. Goldman Sachs, Standard Chartered and Deutsche Bank were among the new members approved for the clearing and trading of securities, and the exchange said their SGX membership would serve as a good route into the Asian market for their international clients. "As part of the Asian gateway network, our new members would be an excellent conduit for their global clients looking for Asian-themed products," said Magnus Bocker, the chief executive of SGX. "SGX is committed to provide efficient and direct market access, and to work closely with all our members in the distribution of our Asian-themed products. "Today, we have a comprehensive Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:52:40 GMT http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129874 2010-03-11T00:52:40Z http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129869 The New Zealand government will wrap up its wholesale funding guarantee on April 30, after announcing that banks in the jurisdiction are able to raise funds freely without the facility. The decision follows the announcement last month that the Australian wholesale funding guarantee will end on March 31. Most other countries have also ended their guarantee schemes or are in the process of doing so, according to the government. Bill English, the finance minister, said the guarantee was no longer needed in New Zealand in view of the market improvements since it was introduced in November 2008. "It helped our banks access funding during that crisis, but international market conditions have improved — and continue to improve in 2010. New Zealand banks are now raising funds without using the guarantee, which was always envisaged as a temporary measure for extraordinary times," English told the New Zealand Australia Investment Forum in Auckland yesterday. Since the wholesale guarantee Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:40:29 GMT http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129869 2010-03-11T00:40:29Z http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129872 In the week before the Lunar New Year, police raided the home of Richard Li Tzar-kai and a number of other residences and businesses connected with the failed HK$15.93 billion attempt to privatise PCCW last year. Yet three weeks since a number of warrants were executed across the city, police have not even confirmed that any criminal investigation is under way. Police have declined to say how many raids, if any, were carried out, who was questioned, and the exact dates of any searches or interviews. Even requests for off-the-record confirmations of whether an investigation is in progress have been met with either silence or the standard reply when police do not want to say anything: "Police will not comment on individual cases." A number of non-law-enforcement sources have said that police either raided or approached a number of companies suspected of being involved in the now-suspended privatisation. The companies included Fortis Insurance Co (Asia), which was accused of Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:19:28 GMT http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129872 2010-03-11T00:19:28Z http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129863 The Hanover Finance and Huljich KiwiSaver affairs point up the pressing need for a "super-regulator" with the authority, budget and, importantly, guts to not only enforce existing regulations but publicly hang the miscreants out to dry. That should be the next priority on Commerce Minister Simon Power's plate after his decision to fast-track KiwiSaver regulation. He's put a rocket under officials and asked them to report back within four weeks on the needed measures, instead of piggy-backing them to the lengthy review of the Securities Act, which is not due to be finalised until October next year. Surely it is important to properly regulate a sector which is managing retirement savings for the 1.3 million New Zealanders who have $4.88 billion in various KiwiSaver funds. But that's only one part of the investing market. Power should now be asking why arguable commercial hazards — many of whom continue to grace New Zealand's puffed-up social columns — seem able to pop up again Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:16:45 GMT http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129863 2010-03-11T00:16:45Z http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129867 Selling the banks is a tough gig and it's a role that now falls to Steven Munchenberg, who's taken the top job at the Australian Bankers' Associations. While the financial health of Australian banks is the envy of the world, local institutions will still have to deal with the fallout. The global appetite for tougher regulation is strong and Australian banks will have to fight hard for reforms that do not impede their ability to grow. They will also have to work hard to repair their reputation in a rising interest rate environment, a difficult assignment if the experience of recent months is any guide. The following is an interview with the ABA's new chief executive Steven Munchenberg. WHITNEY FITZSIMMONS: Looking at the reputational image of banks, is it time to change this or is it just too difficult? STEVEN MUNCHENBERG: Well I certainly don't think it's too difficult, but also I do believe that the industry and certainly the ABA is well aware of the reputational issues that Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:16:44 GMT http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129867 2010-03-11T00:16:44Z http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129871 One of the worst kept secrets in the Singapore corporate scene is the fact that the corporate governance statements of many companies are partly fictional. This is a common view shared by many, including accountants, lawyers, company secretaries and directors themselves. There are many reasons for the current malaise we face. First, unlike the financial statements, there is no independent attestation of corporate governance disclosures. Second, while boards, with the assistance of the audit committee, review and approve the financial statements, they often do not give the same attention to ensure the accuracy of the corporate governance disclosures. This is reinforced by what I feel is a highly obsolete section 201(15) of the Companies Act, which requires a statement by directors stating their opinion about the truth and fairness of the major financial statements and the solvency of the company, but not an opinion about the truth and fairness of other components of the annual Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:15:28 GMT http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129871 2010-03-11T00:15:28Z http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129870 The Capital Market Supervisory Board Meeting No. 2/2553 has approved the guidelines for establishment of exchange-traded funds to be listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand for investment in foreign exchange-traded funds (Thai ETFs on foreign ETFs) and revisions to the regulations governing three types of special-purpose funds: Property Funds for Resolving Financial Institutions Problems (Type II Fund), Mutual Funds for Resolving Financial Institutions Problems (Type III Fund) and Property and Loan Funds (Type IV Fund). Thai ETFs on foreign ETFs Under the approved guidelines, the investible foreign ETFs must be non-complicated, tracking widely accepted stock or commodity indices, managed with passive investment strategies, and traded in the markets of World Federation of Exchanges or WFE's members. Those planning to invest in foreign gold ETFs may do so after the SET has allowed gold shops who meet its requirements to register as SET members and send trading orders of gold-linked Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:13:32 GMT http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129870 2010-03-11T00:13:32Z http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129866 The corporate regulator has received complaints about half of the nation's registered insolvency practitioners in the past three-and-a-half years. In a Senate submission, the Australian Securities & Investments Commission yesterday revealed there had been 1647 complaints about 415 liquidators from July 2006 until December last year, out of a total of 836 registered liquidators. However, ASIC said, in 48 per cent of the cases, "either no breach was identified or there was insufficient evidence to support the allegation". The figures come from ASIC's submission to a Senate Economics Committee inquiry into liquidators and administrators, lodged yesterday. The watchdog has been criticised for its performance in monitoring insolvency practitioners to ensure they comply with the regulatory regime. The Senate committee has received 70 submissions, some complaining about excessive fees and others criticising ASIC for not responding to complaints against rogue operators. ASIC vowed Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:06:51 GMT http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129866 2010-03-11T00:06:51Z http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129785 Compliance checks on major insurance claims processes of adjusters are essential, according to Charles Taylor Adjusting. In an International Underwriting Association market briefing, Practical Issues Arising out of Catastrophic Events, Luke Smallman, director at Charles Taylor Adjusting, drew on his firm's experience of handling claims after the 2001 Toulouse explosion in France and the 2005 Buncefield explosion in the UK to present a "template for other situations", of which compliance was an important part. Smallman told Complinet that the Toulouse and Buncefield cases were unusual in that they were large catastrophe claims situations where insureds had appointed the adjusters, but, in most cases, the insurers would appoint. In these two cases, Charles Taylor Adjusting had brought in a single process to deal with the claims, but the software systems had been different. At the IUA presentation, Smallman said that Charles Taylor Adjusting had used accountants to review the claims Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:27:04 GMT http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129785 2010-03-10T06:27:04Z http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129816 The setting up of the Financial Stability and Development Council as proposed in the Union Budget 2010-11 will not undermine the independence of the Reserve Bank of India, the financial sector regulator, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said. Addressing directors of the RBI during his customary annual meeting with the country's financial planners on Saturday, Mukherjee also underlined the imperative of reverting to the high GDP growth path. The finance minister, while alluding to the resilient and fast paced recovery of the economy, referred to his recent Budget announcements as an endeavour to keep up this momentum of growth. He said the emphasis is on meeting the three important challenges of quickly reverting back to high growth path, making development more inclusive and improving governance. Spelling out the key lessons of the crisis, he stressed the need for proactive domestic oversight and regulation of financial markets and addressing transmission channels of contagion. He Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129816 2010-03-10T04:00:00Z http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129822 The Australian government has extended the consumer protection framework to include facilities such as instalment warrants, which "DIY" superannuation funds have been using to leverage themselves since a ruling in 2007. Chris Bowen, the minister for financial services, superannuation and corporate law, revealed today that the government would change the Corporations Regulations 2001 to classify these instruments as "financial products" under the Corporations Act 2001. The changes will mean that only licensed financial services providers will be able to offer these arrangements to superannuation funds. As a result service providers such as accountants and real estate agents, who have acted as re-sellers of these products, will no longer be able to sell them directly unless they register for an Australian financial services licence. "The proposal builds on the Government's other initiatives in financial consumer protection that I have previously announced, including margin lending reform Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:10:32 GMT http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129822 2010-03-10T01:10:32Z http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129813 Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission has released a public consultation on a draft revision to the rule which governs the filing of registration statements by securities issuers. The revised rule would ensure that investors had access to adequate, updated and timely information for assessing company risks and making investment decisions, the regulator said. The revision proposes a more efficient procedure for filing registration statements, the SEC said, whereby the filing would become effective only after the issuers or their financial advisors have filed complete and finalised material information with the SEC for public scrutiny for 14 consecutive days. Under the existing rule, by comparison, a 30-day lead time is allowed for such filing, during which changes may be made to the registration statements anytime, and as often as necessary. Additionally, under the new rule, if the SEC raises any concerns during the 14-day cooling-off period that may become material to investors' Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:05:27 GMT http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129813 2010-03-10T01:05:27Z http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129802 The Australian corporate regulator has swooped on a suspected insider trader who attempted to fly out of the country while an investigation was underway into his trading activities. Late last month the Australian Securities and Investments Commission won an order from the Supreme Court barring Oswyn De Silva, a former Macquarie Bank fund manager, from leaving or attempting to leave Australia. The regulator is understood to be in the late stages of preparing an insider trading case against De Silva, who ran a managed fund specialising in property securities for the bank. The regulator believed that De Silva, who is a UK resident, was a flight risk due to the serious nature of the potential criminal charges that could be levied against him. Three days after ASIC secured the restraining order De Silva was caught attempting to fly out of the country through Perth airport. ASIC called in the Australian Federal Police, who prevented the UK resident from boarding his flight. De Silva has since Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:00:16 GMT http://www.complinet.com/global/news/news/article.html?ref=129802 2010-03-10T01:00:16Z