Nov. 5 – The price of gold has been trading at historic highs for
the past few months, but in a week where India purchased 200 tons
of the commodity from the IMF, it is being outperformed by the
price in weight of a staple Indian commodity, turmeric. Turmeric is the golden yellow spice that is an ingredient in many
curry powders. Endemic to Southeast Asia and related to the ginger
plant, Turmeric is roasted, then ground and used in an array of
cuisine preparations. In Erode, the southern city in Tamil Nadu, a
100 kilogram bag of turmeric now costs more than 8 grams of gold. Erode is the world’s largest producer and the most important
trading center of turmeric in Asia, and has seen its turmeric
trading prices shoot up 30 percent in value over the past five
months. Stocks of turmeric are low across India, except in Erode,
and farmers nationwide are converting from sugar cane to grow the
plant. Prices of turmeric were as low as just US$55 for a quintal
(imperial hundredweight) just two years ago, having remained
constant for eleven years. Today the price is US$290 per quintal. »
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Oct. 21 – Funds have been pouring into Asian equity funds in the
past two weeks reports DNA Money, India’s financial newspaper. Capital inflows into Asian equities increased from US$37 million in
the seven days ending October 14, surging to US$824 million in the
period ending today (October 21st). Global emerging markets funds
have taken significant deposits and are becoming favorites amongst
investors worldwide. Of the Asian funds, India was the largest
recipient at some US$190 million the past seven days, China second
at US$130 million, and South Korea third with US$128 million. »
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Oct. 14 – Indiabulls Power, a subsidiary of the real estate
business Indiabulls, were oversubscribed six times in its first day
of offering and by four times within the first ten minutes. The US$390 million issue was also oversubscribed by a factor of ten
by institutional investors. Close to 18 percent of the issue was
taken up by eight anchor investors, with Copthall Mauritius
Investors, BNP Paribas Arbitrage, Credit Suisse Singapore, and
MacQuarie Bank being the largest. Proceeds from the issue will be used to part finance the
construction and development of the company’s power projects in
Amravati and Nashik. » Read rest of the article
Oct. 12 – Stock prices in India’s main Sensex market have increased
by 78 percent in the six-month April-September period and over half
of all listed companies have doubled in value. Of the top five, Tata Motors increased 228 percent, Jaiprakseh
Associates, the infrastructure development firm, increased 182
percent, ICICI Bank jumped 172 percent, India’s largest real estate
firm DLF grew 162 percent, and Larsen & Toubro, the country’s
construction giant increased 150 percent according to a survey
carried out by ETIG, the economic data research group. » Read rest
of the article
Oct. 9 – Markets across the Asian region have risen as strong
commodity prices, high prices for gold and oil positively reacted
to signs that the global economy is finally picking up. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 2.1 percent, while markets from
Korea, Japan and Australia all showed strong performances. Gold
remains high as a hedge on concerns the U.S. dollar is still
weakening. Mining and energy stocks ruled most markets, while Australia became
the first G-20 country to raise interest rates since the beginning
of the global downturn. The move signals that the Australian
government feels the economy is strengthening.
Oct. 1 – Asian shares edged higher on Wednesday looking past a
surprise fall in U.S. consumer confidence while the Australian
dollar jumped in a 13 month high. China’s main stock market jumped a percent boosted by the
acquisition plans of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the
world’s biggest bank by market value, while the Korean won rose to
a near one-year high. “GDP and earnings are still being upgraded, valuations are not
horribly expensive and cash is still zero per cent, we are in a
sweet spot,” Khiem Do, head of the Asia multi-asset group at Baring
Asset Management, told The Economic Times. He expects the stock
rally to sustain and corrections to remain mild for the rest of the
year. » Read rest of the article
Sept. 18 – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
scheme to unify six Asian exchanges into one single trading bourse
is steadily taking shape for its launch in 2010. This week, the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange announced that it would
join the ASEAN Bulletin Board that allows each participating countr |
