From the press release desk this week…
People moves
Thomas Cheong, Principal International’s president for North Asia, has been promoted to president for Asia, which will add South Asia to his current role. Pedro Borda, who is currently president for South Asia and India, was promoted to senior vice president and chief operating officer. Borda replaces Renee Schaaf, who is assuming the role of president of Principal retirement and income solutions…
Tokyo-based Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management (SMTAM) has appointed Akiyoshi Nagashima as chief investment officer. He will be responsible for the firm’s product development. Before his new role, Nagashima headed the equity investment department of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank. Nagashima’s appointment follows the restructure of SMTAM in October last year, when Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group merged its retail and institutional asset management business. SMTAM is now one of the largest asset management firms in Asia, with around $550bn in AUM…
Year of the pig
Technology, construction and real estate stocks in Hong Kong are expected to do well during the year of the pig, according to CLSA’s Feng Shui Index. On the flipside, the index warns against investing in metal-related sectors. The Feng Shui Index also predicts that China will outperform the US during the year of the pig…
Source: CLSA
Fintech
Regulation and internal dynamics remain large barriers among financial firms in adopting new technologies, according to a survey conducted by Broadridge Financial. Around 51% of those surveyed, which include capital markets and asset and wealth management firms, indicated that they are concerned about regulatory uncertainty, while 41% said they are facing internal challenges related to changing mindsets or behaviours…
Hurdles for firms looking to invest in new technologies
Source: Broadridge
Regulation
China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China, announced this week that it has allowed S&P Global Ratings to conduct credit ratings business on the mainland. This indicates that the credit rating sector has become fully opened to foreign participants, Melody Yang, partner at Simmons & Simmons, said in a statement. “With the greenlight from the PRC regulators on the credit rating business from S&P, it may be foreseen in the near future that investors may benefit from an assessment of risks in bond investments that aligns with the international practice…”
The Monetary Authority of Singapore has warned the public not to be misled by fraudulent websites that solicit investments in cryptocurrencies using fabricated information attributed to the Singapore government. The websites, which asked readers to provide their personal and financial details, falsely claimed that Singapore is adopting a cryptocurrency as its official coin. They also claimed that the firm has been appointed exclusively to market this cryptocurrency…
