Things are hotting up in Sydney, and it’s not just the weather.
The Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) is enjoying a surge in listing applications, according to Bloomberg, with IPOs announced in November valued at A$3.2 billion, more than the previous 22 months combined.
The latest is Nine Entertainment Co, whose owners want to raise about A$643 million ($582 million) in Australia’s second-biggest initial public offering this year. This would give it a market capitalisation of A$1.93 billion.
LIBOR fines target Deutsche Bank the most with near three quarters of a billion euro penalty
Deutsche Bank has been fined 725 million euros, the biggest single penalty, by the EU in the LIBOR-fixing scandal that has affected six major banks. Societe Generale SA must pay 446 million euros and RBS 391 million euros, Bloomberg reports.
Global fines for rate-rigging have now reached $6 billion.
…and Deutsche also facing penalty in Japan
Japan’s financial regulator is expected to penalise a local unit of Deutsche Bank – possibly today – over allegations that employees broke anti-bribery rules by spending too much on entertaining pension fund officials, reports the Financial Times.
The Financial Services Agency is set to reprimand Deutsche Securities in Tokyo for past entertainment practices of some members of its now-defunct pensions solutions group. It is expected to demand an apology from the bank as well as a tightening of its rules, procedures and internal controls.
Singapore and Hong Kong join forces to participate in global regulatory discussions
The Singapore Exchange (SGX) and the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) will collaborate to present a unified front to US and European regulators as they formulate reforms in the global capital market, says Business Times. Regulators in the US and Europe are pushing for more oversight of the derivatives market after largely unregulated swaps triggered the 2008 financial crisis.
The two exchanges also announced that they will cooperate in various other areas, including developing yuan-denominated products and technology development.
Bitcoin betting on China market
The Wall Street Journal says Chinese demand has helped fuel a boom in the virtual currency called bitcoin. BTC China, the country’s biggest bitcoin exchange, averaged 64,000 bitcoin in daily trading volume in the past 30 days.