The iShares MSCI Hong Kong Index Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of publicly traded securities in the Hong Kong market, as measured by the MSCI Hong Kong Index.
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Monday, December 31, 2012, 8:47 AM
More on the iShares price hikes: Mostly targeted for higher fees is the manager's line of single country ETFs - Brazil (EWZ), Japan (EWJ), Australia (EWA), Hong Kong (EWH), Canada (EWC), and Singapore (EWS), just to name a few of the more popular ones.
3 Comments[Global & FX]
Wednesday, December 12, 2012, 7:35 AM
Hong Kong gets a warning from the IMF, which says it's at risk of an abrupt decline in property prices following a doubling over the past 4 years. The property sector, says the IMF, makes up about half of outstanding loans in the banking system there. EWH +25% YTD.
Comment![Global & FX]
Tuesday, December 4, 2012, 8:56 AM
Index selection matters. The Shanghai Composite - trade is limited to mainlanders - makes headlines for hitting multiyear lows, but Hong's Kong's China Index is up 6% YTD, suggesting foreign investors see value. Also helping in Hong Kong is the higher relative weighting of real estate companies (TAO +52% YTD). On the other hand, struggling miners make up a greater weighting in Shanghai.
1 Comment[Global & FX]
Friday, November 30, 2012, 8:55 AM
A 3% gain in property developers helps halt a slide in Shanghai, +0.9% overnight, but -4.3% for the month. The Shanghai Composite is off 10% YTD, on track for its 3rd consecutive down year. The only positive group is the Property Index, up 11%. China Real Estate ETF: TAO +58.6%. Hong Kong ETF: EWH +23.9% YTD. There are areas of exposure to China doing very well.
Comment![Global & FX]
Thursday, November 29, 2012, 7:08 AM
Chinese shares fail to join in the global rally, -0.5% and etching out another multi-year low. Leading the decline were the brokerages - already smarting from dwindling volume - now maybe being forced by regulators to significantly slash commissions. In Hong Kong, Goldman unloads its stake in red-hot Geely Automotive (GELYF.PK) at a 7.8% discount to the current price.
Comment![Global & FX]
Wednesday, November 21, 2012, 7:05 AM
Jim Chanos once called the bubbly Chinese property market "Dubai on steroids." Well, the Chinese rumor mill is the eurozone on steroids. Chatter Beijing will slash reserve rate requirements on Nov. 25 helps the Shanghai Composite rebound from losses in the last hour of trade, and finish 1.1% higher. The Hang Seng follows along, +1.4%.
1 Comment[Global & FX]
Friday, November 16, 2012, 7:25 AM
Hong Kong's Q3 GDP grew 1.3% Y/Y, less than forecasts for 1.7%, but above 1.2% reported in Q2. "The biggest drag on (the) economy is external trade," says an economist, and there's little data suggesting a rebound. The government narrowed its full year growth forecast to 1.2% - the slowest pace since 2009. EWH +19% YTD.
Comment![Global & FX]
Tuesday, November 13, 2012, 7:08 AM
Shanghai tumbles 1.5% with chatter Beijing may expand a "trial" property tax a good excuse for selling property-related names. The ministry is on "high alert" for rising property transactions and prices, says housing chief Jiang Weixin. Hong Kong also slides, -1.1%.
Comment![Global & FX]
Monday, October 29, 2012, 7:14 AM
Hong Kong property shares tumbled - the Hang Seng property index -3.7% - after the government imposed a tax on overseas homebuyers to try and cool the real estate market. "Some worry if these measures work, they'll hurt property sales ... if they don't work, it'll prompt more measures," says an analyst. TAO +40.8% YTD.
Comment![Global & FX]
Friday, October 26, 2012, 7:27 AM
Shanghai (-1.7%) suffers its biggest decline in weeks, hit by a string of poor earnings reports. Baotou Rare-Earth -7% as it cuts output amidst declines in rare-earth prices. (MCP -1.2% premarket). Maanshan Steel -4.4% after posting a loss that doubled consensus estimates. The country's largest maker of flat panel TVs - Hisense Electric - down 10%, hit by the mix of higher panel costs and lower finished product prices.
1 Comment[Global & FX]
Wednesday, October 24, 2012, 8:50 AM
With surging foreign capital inflows forcing the central bank to print money to keep the currency from busting out of its peg, Hong Kong stocks begin to draw investor interest. The inflows, says Dariusz Kowalczyk, signal the realization the Chinese slowdown may be old news and shares are cheap. EWH +2.3% premarket.
Comment![Global & FX]
Tuesday, October 23, 2012, 7:19 AM
Hong Kong is forced to buy greenbacks for the 2nd time in a week as the HKD bumps against the top of its trading band vs. the U.S. currency. With what does it buy these greenbacks? Freshly minted Hong Kong dollars. The stock market gives a thumbs up, continuing a big 5 month rally, +0.7%.
1 Comment[Global & FX]
Sunday, October 21, 2012, 8:09 AM
Hong Kong's central bank was forced Friday to intervene in the FX market for the first time in years, selling HKD after it hit HK$7.75, the top of its trading band against the greenback. The HKD's strength again gives rise to chatter the famous peg might be abandoned. Bill Ackman's bet on such is one year old, going on two. Hong Kong shares (EWH +17.8% YTD) are among the best performers in Asia this year.
Comment![Global & FX]
Tuesday, October 9, 2012, 6:54 AM
Among the movers in Shanghai's 2% rise last night was Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (IDCBY.PK) - the world's largest by market cap - rising 1.3% after state-owned Central Huijin Investment upped its stake in the lender to 35.43%. Securities firms were the outsized gainers amidst chatter of more steps to direct the country's savings into equities.
Comment![Global & FX, Financials]
Thursday, September 20, 2012, 10:46 AM
The size of the PBOC's balance sheet is shrinking ... rapidly. Far from being a conscious decision to tighten monetary policy, the shrinkage has more to with capital flows. To fix the price of the yuan, the PBOC is forced to print as money flows into the country, but must sell securities as capital reverses. The policy means the PBOC has a very large stimulus bullet in its chamber - letting the yuan go.
1 Comment[Global & FX]
Thursday, September 20, 2012, 7:40 AM
"As a Western investor, I would take issue with any corporate accounting in China," Jim Chanos tells CNBC. "I wouldn't trust any company's accounting in China." Corporate profits there are imploding, he says, and now the country has to deal with capital flight. Doing "just fine" with his shorts, Chanos says he's done some covering of late.
Comment![U.S. Economy]