SGX forms listing, disciplinary and appeals committees

By

Kenneth Limkenlim@sph.com.sg@KennethLimBT

Singapore Exchange has formed three independent committees to advise the market regulator on listing, disciplinary and appeal matters. 

SPH

SEP 15, 20155:48 PM

SINGAPORE Exchange (SGX) has formed three independent committees to advise the market regulator on listing, disciplinary and appeal matters ahead of a new disciplinary framework that will take effect next month.

Blackstone Singapore chairman Gautam Banerjee will head the 15-member Listings Advisory Committee, which will advise SGX on admission applications that deal with novel or unprecedented issues, require specialist expertise, affect public interest or any other cases that SGX or the committee leaders deem appropriate.

Citibank Asia corporate regional treasurer Eddie Tan and DBS Bank senior executive adviser Eric Ang will jointly chair the 14-member Disciplinary Committee, which will handle serious breaches of listing rules.

The seven-member Appeals Committee will be led by Senior Counsel and Rajah & Tann regional head of dispute resolution Francis Xavier. The Appeals Committee will offer an avenue for parties to appeal against disciplinary actions.

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The immediate impetus for the new committees is the new disciplinary framework that will take effect on Oct 7.

The new framework will give SGX the ability to impose fines on issuers' office-holders and issue managers, as well as to restrict their access to the market. In a response to a public consultation on the issue, SGX explained that the new disciplinary powers offer alternatives in cases where the issuance of warning letters or reprimands is not severe enough and delisting or suspension are too harsh.

The Listings Advisory Committee, meanwhile, is aimed at giving SGX the benefit of an independent, industry-led body that can help SGX to better handle complex or unusual listing applications. SGX estimated that about 30 per cent of the applications in the year ended June 2012 would have been referred to the committee based on current guidelines.

The longer-term objective is to improve the quality of the market in Singapore, SGX chief regulatory officer Tan Boon Gin said.

"All these are long-term measures that will improve market structure as well as processes and this will lead to a better quality market that we think will lead to better quality listings," Mr Tan said.

    
 

New York State factory activity declines for second month: NY Fed

SEP 15, 20158:47 PM

[NEW YORK] Manufacturing activity in New York state declined for a second straight month in September due to steep drops in new orders and shipments, and employment in the sector also fell for the first time in more than two-and-a-half years, a New York Federal Reserve survey showed on Tuesday.

The New York Fed's Empire State general business conditions index came in at -14.7 for September, barely changed from -14.92 in August, which had been its lowest since April 2009.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected a reading of -0.75 this month. A reading below zero indicates contraction, and the August and September levels marked the first back-to-back contractions since a six-month run in negative territory between August 2012 and January 2013.

The index for the number of employees fell to -6.19 to mark the first drop in New York manufacturing employment since January 2013. It had read 1.82 in August.

The survey's index on future business conditions also soured, declining to 23.21 from 33.64 in August.

The survey of manufacturing plants in the state is one of the earliest monthly guideposts to U.S. factory conditions.

The new orders index was in negative territory for a fourth month at -12.91 compared with -15.70 in August, while shipment activity declined for the second month in a row to -7.98 from -13.79 in August.

The prices paid index fell to 4.12 from 7.27 in August, while prices received fell to -5.15 from 0.91 the previous month.

REUTERS

      

US CEOs cautious on economy, spending: survey

SEP 15, 201511:42 PM

[NEW YORK] US chief executives are cautious about the economy's near-term prospects and expect to trim capital spending over the next six months, according to a survey by the Business Roundtable.

The survey showed CEOs expect US gross domestic product to grow 2.4 per cent this year, compared with their projection of a 2.5 per cent increase a quarter earlier.

Of the 141 CEOs who responded to the third-quarter survey, 20 per cent said they expect a decrease in their company's capital spending in the United States in the next six months, up from 13 per cent in the second-quarter survey.

Nearly a third of the CEOs polled said they expect US employment to fall, up from 26 per cent in the prior survey.

Nearly two-thirds of the CEOs said they expected their companies' US sales to increase in the next six months, down from 70 per cent a quarter earlier. About 11 per cent said they expect US sales to decline, up from 7 per cent.

"The downward trend in CEO plans for investment and hiring continues to reflect reasonable caution regarding near-term prospects for modest US growth," said Randall Stephenson, chairman of Business Roundtable and chief executive of AT&T Inc.

The Business Roundtable CEO Economic Outlook Index, an index of expectations for the next six months for sales, capital spending and employment, slipped to 74.1 from 81.3 in the second quarter.

REUTERS

    
 

US, China exchange new investment treaty offers ahead of Xi visit

The United States and China have exchanged revised offers for a proposed investment treaty, a spokeswoman for the US Trade Representative said, in the lead-up to Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the White House later this month. 

PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

SEP 15, 201510:43 PM

[WASHINGTON] The United States and China have exchanged revised offers for a proposed investment treaty, a spokeswoman for the US Trade Representative said, in the lead-up to Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the White House later this month.

China, which has more restrictions on foreign investment than the United States, is in talks with Washington to reduce the scope of so-called negative lists of sectors closed to the other side's investors.

The USTR spokeswoman said revised negative list offers were exchanged at talks in Washington last week. Business groups are hoping for news on the bilateral investment treaty (BIT) during Mr Xi's visit to Washington in September.

"The United States continues to review China's revised negative list and assess next steps in the negotiations," the spokeswoman said in an emailed statement late on Monday.

"In order to conclude the BIT negotiations successfully, the two sides will need to reach agreement on a high standard treaty text and a Chinese negative list that is limited, narrow, and represents a substantial liberalization of the Chinese investment market." The sides exchanged initial lists in June.

REUTERS

      

US business inventories edge up in July; sales weak

SEP 15, 201510:16 PM

[WASHINGTON] US business inventories barely rose in July, suggesting businesses were starting to scale back inventory accumulation, which could further pressure the struggling manufacturing sector.

The Commerce Department said on Tuesday business inventories edged up 0.1 per cent, the smallest rise since March. That was in line with economists' expectations. Inventories in June were downwardly revised to show a 0.7 per cent gain after the previously reported 0.8 per cent increase.

Inventories are a key component of gross domestic product. Retail inventories excluding autos, which go into the calculation of GDP, rose 0.2 per cent in July after increasing 0.7 per cent in June.

Inventory investment contributed 0.22 per centage point to the second quarter's annualized 3.7 per cent GDP growth pace. Business inventories have increased by more than $100 billion in each of the last two quarters, a record back-to-back rise that economists say is unsustainable given the current sales pace.

An inventory drawdown would weigh on manufacturing, where activity already has been undermined by a strong dollar, weak global demand and lower crude oil prices.

In July, business sales nudged up 0.1 per cent after increasing by an upwardly revised 0.3 per cent in June. At July's sales pace, it would take 1.36 months for businesses to clear shelves, a relatively high ratio that suggests businesses will need to cut back on stocks. The ratio was unchanged from June.

REUTERS

      

US factory output declines on sharp drop in auto production

US manufacturing output contracted more than expected in August, dragged down by a sharp fall in auto production that could moderate economic growth in the third quarter. 

PHOTO: GRANDE ELECTRON

SEP 15, 20159:27 PM

[WASHINGTON] US manufacturing output contracted more than expected in August, dragged down by a sharp fall in auto production that could moderate economic growth in the third quarter.

American factories churned out 0.5 per cent fewer goods last month, the Federal Reserve said on Tuesday.

Some slowdown was anticipated after an earlier survey of factory manager sentiment pointed to a sharp brake in activity. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a 0.3 per cent decline in factory output.

The drop, combined with a fall in mining production and higher output for utilities, left overall industrial output 0.4 per cent lower during the month.

Auto and autopart production contracted 6.4 per cent, reversing much of the strong gains registered in July. Some of the slowdown in factory production could be due to a stronger dollar that is crimping exports, although sturdy domestic auto sales have given more reassuring signs for the economic outlook.

Capacity utilization in the factory sector fell to 77.6 per cent last month from 78.0 per cent.

REUTERS

    
 

World Bank economists warn Fed hikes may be bumpy for emerging markets

A rise in market expectations for US interest rates as the Federal Reserve starts to normalize policy could cut capital inflows to emerging markets by as much as 45 per cent, World Bank economists said in a paper published on Tuesday. 

PHOTO: REUTERS

SEP 15, 20158:36 PM

[WASHINGTON] A rise in market expectations for US interest rates as the Federal Reserve starts to normalize policy could cut capital inflows to emerging markets by as much as 45 per cent, World Bank economists said in a paper published on Tuesday.

The Fed has left the door open to a modest rate rise on Thursday, although economists and investors are divided over whether policymakers will act now or later in the year.

The World Bank paper said although most expected a smooth tightening cycle from the Fed, there was a risk of a substantial hit to capital flows if investors started to expect more aggressive hikes and drove up long-term bond yields.

A 1 percentage point rise in US, euro area, UK and Japanese yields could cut capital inflows to emerging and frontier economies by 45 per cent within a year, representing up to 2.2 percentage points of their combined economic output.

"Emerging and frontier market economies may hope for the best during the upcoming tightening cycle, but given the substantial risks involved, they would do well to buckle their seatbelts in case the ride gets bumpy," said Carlos Arteta, one of the paper's authors.

REUTERS