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Tag: securities

  • South Korean Regulators Face Backlash as Margin Debt Hits 33.7 Trillion Won

    South Korean Regulators Face Backlash as Margin Debt Hits 33.7 Trillion Won

    South Korean financial authorities face mounting criticism after retail margin debt climbed to 33.7 trillion won ($2.53 billion) during a week of violent swings on the Seoul stock exchange.

    The benchmark Kospi tumbled through seven consecutive sessions before rebounding 2.05 percent to close at 5,668.05 on Friday, while retail cash reserves sank toward recent lows.

    Regulators Convene Emergency Session

    Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eog-weon convened an emergency review in Seoul with executives from the Financial Supervisory Service, the Korea Exchange, the Korea Capital Market Institute and the Korea Financial Investment Association. Officials reviewed risks tied to artificial intelligence semiconductor valuations, prospective United States interest rate increases and elevated crude oil prices.

    Lee instructed brokerage houses to tighten their lending standards to curb speculative exposure during volatile trading cycles.

    “Financial companies should refrain from extending credit indiscriminately and make every effort to protect customers and manage risks,” he said.

    Margin Loans Surge Above Thresholds

    Outstanding margin loans have remained above 30 trillion won for an extended run, touching a three-month peak by Wednesday. Retail accounts expanded their borrowed exposure even as the Kospi breached the 6,000-point threshold and briefly threatened the 5,500-point mark.

    Cash deposits held by retail investors dropped toward recent cyclical lows over the same period. The divergent metrics reveal that individual traders committed further to used bets rather than holding cash cushions during severe market sell-offs.

    Volatilities spilled into tech equities across North Asia as market participants reassessed capital expenditure on AI infrastructure. In Seoul, Samsung Electronics edged up 0.23 percent while SK Hynix slipped 1.26 percent, tracking broader weakness in semiconductor components.

    Market Participants Demand Concrete Steps

    Institutional desks in Seoul argue that rhetorical warnings fail to alter trading behavior when foreign funds offload local equities. Repeated government sessions without structural measures risk desensitizing domestic market participants.

    Used retail positioning poses liquidity threats to mid-cap listings if forced liquidations accelerate across secondary brokerages. Margin calls triggered during intraday slides drain trading volume from high-growth tech firms that depend on domestic retail capital.

    Index Swings Trigger Circuit Measures

    The Thursday session delivered a plunge of more than 7 percent across the Kospi, culminating in a seven-day losing streak before Friday’s technical rebound. The tech-heavy Kosdaq index jumped as much as 5 percent intraday on Friday, activating a buy-side sidecar mechanism that temporarily suspended automated program trading.

    Investor anxiety remained elevated despite the Friday bounce, with the Kospi 200 Volatility Index recording its third-largest single-day increase on record and hitting a six-week high.

    Brokers now track whether margin balances stay above the 33 trillion won line as third-quarter earnings reports from key tech exporters roll out across the region.

  • South Korea May Ban Unlicensed Foreign Banks from Arranging Global Bonds

    South Korea May Ban Unlicensed Foreign Banks from Arranging Global Bonds

    South Korea is preparing rules to bar investment banks without local securities licenses from arranging overseas bond sales for domestic companies. The restriction targets offshore bookrunners managing Korean paper. It shuts out institutions lacking registered branches or financial investment licenses inside the country.

    The Ministry of Finance and Economy initiated the push through the Korea Financial Investment Association. It sent member brokerages a survey on October 1 to gauge support for the measure. Regulators gave firms a 24-hour turnaround to state their position. The questionnaire demanded identifying details, including the respondent’s company name, department, and contact information.

    Survey Excludes Corporate Borrowers and Offshore Dealers

    Officials limited the consultation to foreign securities brokerages that already hold domestic branches or local subsidiaries. They omitted offshore investment banks facing exclusion. Korean corporate borrowers that rely on overseas debt markets to fund international operations and refinance dollar obligations were also excluded.

    Foreign brokerages operating in Seoul privately questioned the design of the review. The finance ministry issues foreign exchange stabilization bonds directly. That puts domestic desks in the position of answering queries from their primary public-sector client.

    When foreign exchange stabilization bonds and others are issued, the ministry is also a key client, so the structure makes it hard to give answers that go against the government’s wishes.

    Tighter Control Over Cross-Border Financing Channels

    Forcing issuers to work strictly with locally licensed entities shifts fee revenue to desks with a physical presence in Seoul. Global banks running debt syndicates out of Hong Kong or Singapore face a choice. They must route mandates through their Korean corporate units or surrender underwriting mandates entirely.

    Korean conglomerates and tech groups issuing dollar, euro, or yen notes will face a smaller roster of lead arrangers. Restricting the offshore dealer network reduces direct access to specialized international investor books. That raises the risk that pricing spreads widen when issuers need offshore liquidity.

    Treasury Intervention Follows Market Sell-Off

    This regulatory step coincides with broader state measures to stabilize domestic sovereign debt. The yield on benchmark three-year Korean government bonds rose 11 basis points to 4.11 per cent in early October. That matched November 2022 highs and touched levels close to four-year peaks.

    Finance Minister Lee Hyung-koo announced a 5 trillion won ($36.7 billion) reduction in government bond issuance for October. The ministry also flagged readiness to deploy early debt redemptions and open-market repurchases with the Bank of Korea to counter volatile secondary trading.

    Earlier Legal Reviews Resurface in Seoul

    Regulators previously examined a legal framework to restrict unlicensed offshore investment banks in 2019 before shelving the draft. The international finance division of the finance ministry revived the plan this month by formalizing the association-led poll.

    The finance ministry has finished collecting survey responses through the Korea Financial Investment Association. Officials are now reviewing the feedback to draft the final regulatory text for foreign bond underwriting.

  • Fewer Than 1% of People in Bangladesh Invest in Stocks

    Fewer Than 1% of People in Bangladesh Invest in Stocks

    Fewer than 1.7 million beneficiary owner accounts remain active in Bangladesh out of a population nearing 180 million, keeping stock market participation below 1 per cent. Industry insiders estimate that actual individual investors number no more than 200,000, representing less than 0.1 per cent of the population.

    In October 2026, the low tally contrasted sharply with more than 190 million bank accounts nationwide. Stock market appetite has struggled to recover since 2010, when beneficiary owner accounts surged past 3.3 million before a severe market crash prompted a sustained exodus.

    Regional Gap Widens Across South Asia

    Neighbouring equity markets show a wide gap, with India registering roughly 6 per cent of its population in equities and Nepal reaching 26 per cent. In Bangladesh, investor confidence has also been undermined by weak protections from the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission and irregularities across listed firms.

    This shallow investor pool limits initial public offerings to modest sizes for consumer enterprises and regional retail conglomerates looking to raise capital in Dhaka. Institutional liquidity also stays tight. Retail secondary volume cannot absorb sizable exits, leaving listing pipelines narrow.

    Structural Faults and Corporate Returns

    Corporate payout policies have discouraged retail capital. Only 10 to 15 listed entities deliver dependable cash returns to shareholders. Larger companies frequently hold cash in bank accounts rather than distributing dividends. Consequently, speculative turnover has concentrated in low-paid-up capital firms and junk equities.

    Lax oversight in previous years deepened the structural imbalance. The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission previously extended the maturity terms of closed-end mutual funds by 10 years, freezing retail redemption rights. Questionable listings also slipped through. Sikder Insurance allocated roughly 72 per cent of its life fund into junk shares before completing its initial public offering.

    Regulatory Overhaul Following Political Transition

    Market participation reached an all-time peak in 2010, when active beneficiary owner accounts climbed past 3.3 million ahead of a major crash. Account numbers dropped steadily over the next decade. Fraud across brokerage houses went uncompensated, and market manipulators faced minimal sanctions.

    Following the fall of the Awami League government in 2024, the interim administration reconstituted the securities regulator. BSEC Chairman Masud Khan has committed to overhauling listing criteria, digitising trade surveillance, and policing brokerage compliance. Meanwhile, the Dhaka Stock Exchange has started payouts to reimburse investors hit by past brokerage insolvencies.

    Reforms Face Operational Test

    Rebuilding retail confidence requires expanding the product suite beyond volatile equities into a functional bond market. The immediate test for the commission lies ahead. Regulators must process pending corporate listing applications under tighter financial disclosure rules and enforce dividend compliance before year-end financial reporting deadlines arrive.

  • Seven China IPOs Hand Retail Investors over 100,000 Yuan This Year

    Seven China IPOs Hand Retail Investors over 100,000 Yuan This Year

    China’s boom in initial public offerings has handed individual investors first-day trading profits exceeding 100,000 yuan ($14,900) across seven separate stock debuts this year.

    The run represents the most six-figure retail listing windfalls in at least six years. Investors who secured standard 500-share allocations and sold on debut day captured gains equivalent to six months of salary in a single day.

    Robotics and Tech Lead the Surge

    Individual investor Stacy Wei earned about 380,000 yuan after securing an allocation in the listing of Unitree Robotics and selling on debut day, enough to upgrade to her dream car.

    Hardware manufacturers and artificial intelligence supply-chain companies continue to draw the heaviest speculative retail subscriptions across domestic exchanges. Bidders flip shares instantly rather than holding long positions, treating mainland debut pops as liquidity events rather than valuation anchors.

    Shifting Liquidity in Mainland Markets

    Institutional allocators face a different calculation. While retail flippers bank quick cash, fund managers buying secondary tranches absorb the risk of sharp post-debut pullbacks once initial euphoria clears from the order book.

    Sellers who take profits on opening day bypass subsequent price volatility. That trading pattern concentrates quick consumer liquidity in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities, diverting trading gains directly into private purchases and big-ticket household spending.

    The Trajectory of New Offerings

    Regulators spent recent quarters calibrating the pace of new equity issuance to stabilise broader secondary market indices. That restricted pipeline funnelled intense speculative capital into the select batch of tech and robotics candidates cleared for listing.

    Trading desks now track subscription ratios for the next pipeline of advanced manufacturing and consumer tech filings scheduled for domestic exchange review this autumn.

  • OCBC Pioneers New Securities Financing Division to Optimize Lending Solutions

    OCBC Pioneers New Securities Financing Division to Optimize Lending Solutions

    Singapore’s OCBC Bank has established a new division that is committed to providing loans against idle securities in customer accounts.

    Enabling Efficient Use of Idle Securities

    OCBC Bank has introduced a dedicated securities financing unit that will operate within the global markets division. This unit’s main function will be to activate lendable securities like equities and fixed income, which are held by customers of OCBC Bank and its affiliate businesses OCBC Securities, Bank of Singapore, and Great Eastern.

    The financing unit will be under the leadership of Jansen Chua, the newly appointed head of securities finance. Chua, who officially joined the bank on January 2, will directly report to Kenneth Lai, the head of global markets.

    Chua brings to the table 25 years of international experience spanning across the United States, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. His most recent role was at State Street Bank & Trust Company, where he was the senior managing director and head of financing solutions for the Asia Pacific region. He has led teams in trading, sales, customer management, and product development.

    The Increasing Demand for Securities Financing

    Globally, there has been a noticeable increase in the demand for securities financing. More and more buy-side firms are looking for ways to optimize liquidity, fulfill collateral requirements, and put in place hedging strategies in fluctuating markets.

    In 2025, global securities lending revenues hit an all-time high of $15.3 billion, according to EquiLend Data & Analytics.

    Accessing liquidity and effectively deploying capital has become crucial, especially given the current high market volatility. As a result, securities financing has become increasingly important, and there has been a correspondingly significant rise in demand from institutional customers, according to Lai.

    With Chua’s leadership, the bank is well-positioned to assist its customers as they implement trading and hedging strategies, meet settlement obligations, and optimize capital usage.

    Questions & Answers

    What is the purpose of the new securities financing unit?

    The new unit has been established to mobilize lendable securities such as equities and fixed income held by customers, allowing for lending against these idle securities.

    Who will lead the new securities financing unit?

    The unit will be under the leadership of Jansen Chua, the head of securities finance at OCBC.

    What factors have contributed to the increased demand for securities financing?

    The growing demand is largely due to buy-side firms seeking to optimize liquidity, meet collateral obligations, and implement effective hedging strategies amidst volatile market conditions.

  • HSBC Bolsters ASEAN Presence: Ruby Ho to Spearhead Markets and Securities Services in Singapore

    HSBC Bolsters ASEAN Presence: Ruby Ho to Spearhead Markets and Securities Services in Singapore

    HSBC, the UK-based banking institution, recently undertook a strategic shift in its Southeast Asian operations, assigning an experienced professional to spearhead its markets and securities services across ASEAN.

    Ruby Ho Takes the Reins

    Ruby Ho now holds the reins of HSBC’s Markets and Securities Services (MSS) franchise throughout Singapore and the ASEAN region. She will lead the bank’s regional strategy for markets and securities services, poised at a moment when institutional demand, transnational investment, and treasury needs in Southeast Asia are on the rise.

    Ho comes to the role armed with almost three decades of experience in the financial markets. She joined HSBC in 2011 and has since occupied high-ranking roles across a variety of asset classes and markets, most recently serving as the head of MSS in HSBC Taiwan. Her proven ability to build robust institutional relationships is expected to be instrumental in driving client engagement across the region.

    Fostering HSBC’s ASEAN Growth Goals

    HSBC’s management team sees Ho’s appointment as a significant stride towards deepening the bank’s regional footprint. “Singapore is a high-priority growth market for HSBC. We have been consistently enhancing our regional banking and advisory capabilities, catering to the capital and investment requirements of our ASEAN clients”, said Wong Kee Joo, CEO of HSBC Singapore.

    He further remarked on Ho’s “vast expertise across asset classes and her capacity to foster robust collaboration across our wealth and corporate banking sectors, which will assist us in expanding our market share in this region.”

    Prepared for Growth

    With demographic growth, burgeoning capital markets, and increasing intra-regional investment, ASEAN is one of HSBC’s key areas of focus worldwide.

    The appointment of an experienced markets executive emphasises the bank’s intent to augment its MSS portfolio and seize a larger share of the institutional market across Southeast Asia.

    Questions & Answers

    Who has HSBC appointed to lead its MSS franchise in the ASEAN region?
    Ruby Ho has been appointed to oversee HSBC’s Markets and Securities Services in the ASEAN region.

    What is the significance of Ruby Ho’s appointment to HSBC’s growth strategy in ASEAN?
    Ho’s appointment is seen as a key step in strengthening HSBC’s regional presence and providing a boost to the bank’s growth agenda in the ASEAN market.

    What factors make ASEAN a high-priority area for HSBC?
    ASEAN is a key focus for HSBC due to the region’s demographic growth, expanding capital markets, and rising intra-regional investment.

  • Jim Wang Takes Helm as CEO of Standard Chartered’s China Securities Unit: A Leap Forward in Asia’s Financial Landscape

    Jim Wang Takes Helm as CEO of Standard Chartered’s China Securities Unit: A Leap Forward in Asia’s Financial Landscape

    Standard Chartered recently revealed that it has chosen a new leader for its securities division in mainland China.

    Appointment of New CEO for Standard Chartered Securities (China) Limited

    Standard Chartered Securities (China) Limited (SCSCL), the Chinese securities branch of Standard Chartered’s Hong Kong banking unit, has welcomed Jim Wang into the role of CEO. Wang will be responsible for supervising the company’s comprehensive operations and will report directly to its board of directors.

    About Jim Wang

    Wang boasts an impressive career that spans two decades, during which he accumulated experience in various fields including securities, asset management, and banking. He has held high-ranking positions at multiple leading financial institutions, both domestically and internationally.

    Comments on Wang’s Appointment

    John Thang, Head of Markets and Strategic Client Management & Solutions for Hong Kong, Greater China & North Asia, made laudatory comments about Wang’s appointment. He noted, “Jim’s extensive international and domestic experience makes him an invaluable addition to our team. His deep understanding of China’s fixed income capital markets coupled with his proven leadership and management skills, underscored by a consistent record of delivering excellent business performance, makes him the perfect fit for this role.”

    Questions & Answers

    Who is the newly appointed CEO of Standard Chartered Securities (China) Limited (SCSCL)?
    Jim Wang was recently selected as the CEO of Standard Chartered Securities (China) Limited (SCSCL).

    What is Jim Wang’s primary responsibility in his new role?
    Wang will be in charge of overseeing the company’s overall operations and will be directly reporting to its board of directors.

    What can be said about Jim Wang’s professional experience?
    Jim Wang’s professional journey spans over 20 years, and includes experience in securities, asset management, and banking. He has served in senior managerial roles at several leading financial institutions both domestically and internationally.

  • VietinBank Securities eyes another record year

    VietinBank Securities eyes another record year

    VietinBank Securities eyes record profits again this year through the stock market itself is likely to be down.

    Its board has approved a profit target of VND505 billion ($22 million), 5 percent up from last year.

    Last year pre-tax profits tripled to VND480 billion on revenues of VND1.06 trillion.

    Tran Phuc Vinh, its chairman, said though the stock market is no longer booming like last year and growth is likely to be slower this year, he expected the number of new retail investors to keep rising.

    “We need to invest in technology, and increase salaries, bonuses, and commissions to attract more brokers and collaborators”.

    The brokerage is also set to enter corporate bond consultancy and distribution and step up financial activities by raising its margin rate to 200 percent of shares owned.

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  • Taxes on securities up 320 pct

    Taxes on securities up 320 pct

    Capital gains taxes on securities surged 320 percent year-on-year in the first five months as new investors flocked to the stock market.

    They were one of the major contributors to personal income tax collection in the first five months, which rose by nearly 13 percent, Cao Anh Tuan, head of the General Department of Taxation, said.

    Vietnam imposes a flat 0.1 percent capital tax on every stock sale.

    Other contributors were real estate (up 183 percent) and personal investment (up 169 percent), Tuan added.

    In May, an average of 3,600 individual stock trading accounts was opened each day, the highest ever. The number of accounts now has risen 11-fold since January 2020 to 3.2 million, or one each for 3.26 percent of the population.

    In the first five months of this year, 480,000 accounts were opened.

    In the period, the benchmark VN-Index gained over 20 percent, the highest in Asia.

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  • Whisky-Backed Securities Trading Goes Live in Singapore

    Whisky-Backed Securities Trading Goes Live in Singapore

    Hg Exchange went live this week with whisky-based asset-backed securities trading, becoming Southeast Asia’s first bourse with the offering.

    Five whisky-linked securities were actively traded through the blockchain-based bourse for the first time yesterday, according to a statement, with total volumes valued at 700,000 British pounds ($956,000).

    Hg Exchange’s (HGX) is a private bourse that features not only whisky-linked securities but also other financial securities such as private equity, venture capital funds, and real estate.

    Its founding partners include Asia-focused financial firms PhillipCapital and PrimePartners alongside private tech platform Fundnel and blockchain platform Zilliqa.

    Demand from Asia in fine whiskeys has grown in recent years concurrently with persistent wealth accumulation. There was a most notable surge in the region during the mid-2010s after the release of the Japanese television series Massan, then a popular drama about a whisky distiller, sparking widespread demand.

    The strongest returns yielded from HGX’s first trading day was from the Port Ellen which saw over 30 percent gains yesterday.

    We are delighted by the positive reaction to this whisky-based asset-backed securities from accredited investors in Singapore, across Asia and around the world, said Gerald Ong, deputy chairman and executive director of PrimePartners Corporate Finance Holdings.

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  • Finance minister urges to improve the nation’s securities market

    Finance minister urges to improve the nation’s securities market

    Minister of Finance Đinh Tiến Dũng yesterday struck the gong to open the first trading session of 2017 on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange.

    Dũng urged Government agencies and market members to improve the current conditions of the securities market to promote it as a channel to raise funds for socio-economic development and increase the competitiveness of the economy.

    “The securities regulators need to improve the policies to meet the country’s economic conditions and match international standards,” Dũng said.

    “We should keep restructuring the securities market and regulatory agencies, including the merger of the two local exchanges, increase the scale and quality of the market, diversify the products and make sure the market runs efficiently and sustainably.”

    “We have to be well-prepared to launch the derivatives market in the second quarter of 2017, study and develop derivative products to meet the demand of investors and improve risk management for the derivatives market,” Dũng said, urging Government agencies to complete the legal and technical system so that corporate bond market can operate in 2018.

    “Market regulators and relevant agencies need to improve the quality of Government bond issuance to raise more capital for the country’s development, seek for more investors to buy Government bonds and diversify bond products, tighten the policies to monitor local authorities in using the money raised from bond issuance and encourage them to actively call for the participation of private investors in the local areas.”

    “We also need to push State-owned enterprises (SOEs) to sell the State’s capital and get listings on the securities market, work with large-cap corporations and Government agencies to implement more effectively the policies on equitisation and restructuring of the SOEs.”

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