Daily Dispatches - Asia stock market woes
All eyes are on Asia Monday morning after shares tumbled on the back of a strong yen hitting exports, a weaker Aussie dollar, and news from China that it will not sacrifice the environment for short-term growth. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 1.2% in early trade in Tokyo, extending its biggest weekly decline in 10 months.
China's Industrial and Commercial Bank will today start clearing renmimbi from Singapore, which could divert some RMB flows from Hong Kong.
Almost two-thirds of Australia’s top 100 companies listed on the stock exchange have subsidiaries in tax havens or low-tax jurisdictions, with 13 of the top 20 companies, including two of the big four banks, using well-known tax havens such as the Cayman Islands, Luxembourg, the British Virgin Islands and Bermuda. The use of tax shelters is attracting increasing scrutiny from country regulators around the world.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is facing accusations that it has failed to stamp out bullying, according to reports that complaints continue to emerge from staff responsible for the integrity of Australia's financial markets.
Jerome Leleu and Mille Cheng have been appointed co-heads of Asia-Pacific ECM.
