The latest analysis about 14 commercial banks' credit loans data showed 14 banks granted CNY 4.52 trillion credit lines in the first two months of 2009, including 3.49 trillion to local governments and 1.06 trillion to large infrastructure projects and big companies. Few of them offered credit lines to small and medium-sized enterprises. Considering the considerable margin between discount interest rate and benchmark deposit interest rates, some analysts are worried there is arbitrage in the bill financing. (Source: cnstock.com)

The Gulf African Bank - the first fully-fledged Islamic bank in Kenya - launched a sharia compliant mortgage scheme. Mortgage experts say the system, which is open to both Muslims and non-believers, will widen property financing avenues for buyers and sets a precedent for niche market products. The product entails the bank and the customer jointly buying a property, with the bank contributing 70 per cent while the rest of the cost is borne by the home owner over a period of time on pre-agreed terms. (Source: bdafrica.com)

As of March 16, patent applications filed in China surpassed the 5 million mark, and leaving the 4 million mark behind after only a year and four months. Invention applications contributed 1,681,464. The fast-growing momentum to the patent applications may be summarized as follows: first, it takes much less time to finish a million; second, domestic users ate up bigger share of the pie for invention; third, service applications maintained steady growth. (Source: China IP News)

Trademark applications totaled 42,075 in 2008, a rise of 5.3 percent, the World Intellectual Property Organization said. But growth year-on-year slowed to 3.9 percent in the second half of the year from 6.9 percent in the first half as the economic crisis unfolds. For the fifth year in succession, Germany filed more trademark applications than any other country. But China, Japan and Russia are all making increasing use of the system. Of the countries designated as ones where protection is sought, China topped the rankings for the fourth year in succession. (Source: reuters.com)

New Zealand is seeking to fast-track legislation that would strengthen regulation of corporate trustees. The proposed regime is that the statutory trustee companies would lose their "as of right" ability to act as a trustee and would also be supervised by the Securities Commission. Amendments to the Reserve Bank Act last year made the central bank the prudential regulator for non-bank deposit takers. Under the legislation, the Reserve Bank has the ability to fine trustees up to $200,000 for breaching their regulatory requirements. (Source: nzherald.co.nz)

China's venture capital market had 91 new funds in 2008, a 57 percent increase from 2007, according to a report from EZ Capital & Holy Zone. The total amount raised by new funds was around $37.7 billion, up 347 percent on the previous year. There were 58 yuan-denominated funds and 33 dollar-denominated funds. Yuan-denominated funds accounted for 43 percent of new VC funds in 2007, the average value of which was around $96 million, one-ninth the average of the dollar-denominated funds. (Source: chinadaily.com)

Malaysia has overtaken Saudi Arabia in terms of the number of locally domiciled Shari'a funds. As of November 2008, the number of Shari'a funds in Malaysia totaled 145 compared with Saudi Arabia's 131. These range from investments in money markets and sukuks to regional and global equities. Malaysia allows 100% foreign ownership of Islamic fund management companies to entice more players. Islamic fund management companies are allowed to invest all their assets overseas and will be given income tax exemption on fees received until 2016. (Source: offshoreinvestment.com)

Investment funds in the country will not be allowed to give loans or offer any financial product that involves loans, according to a decision by the UAE Central. A joint committee was set up, specializing in looking into the formation, foundation, licensing and management of portfolios and funds for investment into local and foreign securities, which are under the authority of banks. The Central Bank would treat expatriates who obtained loans to pay their annual rents with a "humanitarian outlook". (Source: zawya.com)

William Paulin was earning £100,000-a-year when he declared himself bankrupt. His former wife, Nancy Paulin, went to the High Court to expose his deceit. The court heard that Mr. Paulin operated through a web of more than 60 companies and appeared never to have owned anything in his own name. Mr. Paulin claimed he only had assets of £13,000, with no shares or property abroad. Giving the judgment, Lord Justice Wilson said Mr. Paulin had made a "substantially dishonest statement" for his bankruptcy hearing. He has been ordered to pay Mrs. Paulin £1 million. (Source: telegraph.co.uk)

Superannuation fund members' ability to dictate where their retirement savings benefits will be distributed after their death may now be compromised due to new legislation. Superannuation benefits that have been subject to a binding death benefit nomination that was exercised within three years of the member's death may now be treated as part of the deceased's "notional estate". However, court can only make orders regarding the notional estate in circumstances where there has been a family provision claim. The new rules will take effect from 1 July this year. (Source: investordaily.com)

China will steadily cut export-related taxes to zero and increase financial help for struggling exporters to maintain stable export growth, according to Commerce Minister Chen Deming. But curbs on exports polluting, high-energy and resource-consuming products will be maintained. China has raised rebates of VAT on a range of products such as textiles and garments and cut or removed export tariffs on some others as part of measures to ease the pain of weakening global demand. (Source: shanghaidaily.com)

The South African Revenue Service launched a new tax system, which is expected to reduce the time and cost of submitting tax returns. The system is available to small businesses with a turnover of up to R1m a year and replaces income tax, provisional tax, capital gains tax, secondary tax on companies and value-added tax. The new Turnover Tax is available to sole proprietors, partnerships, close corporations, co-operatives and companies provided they have a taxable turnover of R1m or less in a year of assessment and meet certain criteria. (Source: businessday.co.za)

Foreigners in Vietnam are still subject to personal income tax payments, according to a new regulation issued by the Ministry of Finance. Under the regulation, non-residents, or foreigners, with income earned in Vietnam are those who are not residing in Vietnam, who will leave Vietnam prior June 30 and who has been living in the country since January 1 this year. Vietnam has delayed collecting personal income tax payments until the end of May this year. (Source: Vietnam News)

China has shifted the approvals process for some foreign investments to local governments in an attempt to spur declining foreign investment. Foreign businesses setting up an investment company with less than US$100 million in registered capital will only need approval from local commerce bureaus. Foreign investments previously required both local and ministry-level approvals. Local commerce bureaus have also been authorized to review plans by foreign-invested automakers to expand production capacity. (Source: chinaeconomicreview.com)

The current global economic problems will not stop Dutch traders and investors from looking into opportunities abroad, particularly in Malaysia. The Dutch embassy said at least four Dutch companies in different industries opened in Malaysia since the beginning of this year. The Netherlands invested RM1.8 billion in Malaysia in 2008 and was the eighth foreign investor there. Last year, Netherlands accounted for 3.5 percent of Malaysia's exports. (Source: bernama.com)

The retail-investor market is growing strong in HK. There are more than 2 million retail investors in HK, and 10% of them are active traders. Last year, 40% of the adult population participated in the retail-investment market, up from 18% in 2003, according to the five-year study. Investors tend to favor equities, allocating 70% to 90% of their portfolios to stocks. Mutual funds are also gaining popularity. The net asset value of them had a compound annual growth rate of 20%, and it reached $1.3 trillion in assets in 2008. (Source: investmentnews.com)

Monetary Authority of Singapore's Heng Swee Keat says that the secular trend in the growth of Asian enterprises and corporations, growing intra-regional trade, and the demands for infrastructure financing will generate new opportunities for corporate and institutional businesses. When the dust settles, global financial institutions which rebuild their resilience and stay engaged in the Asia region will increase the value of their franchises. (Source: asianinvestor.net)

Venture capital and private equity investment in clean technology in China surged 120% year-on-year to US$1.3 billion in 2008, according to a report released by research firm Zero2IPO. Domestic and overseas VC and PE companies in 2008 invested in 55 deals in clean technology, up 175% from 2007. Water treatment was another significant investment target, garnering $287 million in 12 deals. (Source: chinaeconomicreview.com)

PricewaterhouseCoopers surveyed 215 senior executives from financial firms in January and February and found surprisingly that Asia Pacific financial institutions were more optimistic about mergers and acquisitions than a year ago, with 42 percent expecting to make an acquisition in the next year. The mainland figure was 68 percent, followed by Taiwan with a 70 percent expectation. Mainland financial players are still very cautious on actually carrying out the deals, the survey said. The difficulty in valuing assets is the biggest concern. (Source: shanghaidaily.com)

Indonesia plans to sell up to 7.5 trillion rupiah ($650 million) of Islamic bonds before June, its first global sukuk issue, but analysts said market conditions are expected to remain tough due to the global crisis. The size of sukuk would depend on the underlying assets available. The sukuk will be issued according to the ijara contract. Ijara is a lease where a bank buys an asset and rents it to its client for a fee that includes the purchase price and the profit rate to be earned by the bank during the rental period. (Source: Thomson Reuters)

Japan provides $5 billion from its nearly $1 trillion in foreign reserves to Japanese companies having trouble raising dollar funds through the state-backed Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano said. JBIC has been implementing an emergency program to provide loans and debt guarantees for Japanese companies operating overseas that are facing difficulty raising funds. The fresh funds from foreign reserves are expected to bolster the bank's operations. (Source: breitbart.com)

China's automakers, encouraged by Beijing, are looking to snap up smaller domestic manufacturers. China has more than 100 car manufacturers who have resisted consolidation until recently, due in part to objections from regional governments who want to protect local jobs and tax revenues. But as the Chinese auto market slows sharply, the larger players have starting eyeing loss-making smaller firms, as opposed to distressed brands and assets in the US and Europe. (Source: chinaeconomicreview.com)

Angola has secured another billion-dollar loan from China, state media said. Angola has already received at least five billion dollars in credit from China to pay for its post-war reconstruction. Trade between the two countries was at 25.3 billion dollars in 2008, and Angola is now China's biggest African trade partner. The government, which relies on oil and diamonds for more than 90 percent of its income, is suffering amid the global slowdown and is investing in areas like agriculture in a bid to diversify the economy. (Source: yahoo.com)

Panama and Cuba signed a trade pact that will allow an increase in the trade of goods and services between the two countries. The accord would allow Panama's exports to Cuba to be increased from last year's roughly $180 million to $400 million. Cuba will also be able to multiply "three or four times" the goods and services it exports to Panama that currently amount to only $28 million. Finance criteria have been established for handling transferrals by means of mechanisms established for use by authorized companies, while the insurance field is also being studied. (Source: laht.com)

In an essay released on Mar.23, People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan argued for reducing the dominance of the dollar, yen and euro in international finance in favor of a currency issued by the IMF. The currency would be based on an expanded version of special drawing rights (SDRs), used by the IMF in transactions with member nations. While it's unlikely that Zhou's plan would be implemented in the near future, experts say it could have "significant implications." (Source: chinaeconomicreview.com)

【Chief Editors: Cynthia & Lillian 】

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