Market watchdog may relax fund-raising restrictions
China plans to boost its capital markets by relaxing fund-raising restrictions on foreign-invested firms and extending the maturity period of state bonds to 15 years. Antony Neoh, chief adviser to the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said it might allow mainland-registered foreign-invested firms to float A shares and foreign stocks to trade as China depository receipts on the domestic market.
Merger momentum accelerates for small banks
Merger momentum is gathering pace in Hong Kong's banking sector and while analysts may differ on fine details, they agree the end game for small banks has arrived. 'We believe more consolidation is inevitable for reasons that can only get more pressing,' Goldman Sachs banking analyst Roy Ramos said. Slowing growth, combined with pressures on pricing and profitability in core products such as mortgage lending, was driving consolidation, Mr Ramos said.
Shrinking Japanese economy raises fourth recession fears
Japan's economy shrank in the first three months of this year, raising fears that the world's second-biggest economy is slipping into its fourth recession in a decade. Gross domestic product dipped 0.2 per cent in January to March from the last quarter, or an annualised drop of 0.8 per cent, after modest 0.6 per cent growth in the October-December period, according to government figures released on Monday. The data showed business investment slipping following a cooling in exports to key markets such as the United States and Asia.
