South Korea has risen from advanced emerging market status to developed status, according to this year’s FTSE Group review of country classifications for its Global Equity Index Series (GEIS). It is expected that this reclassification will result in increased fund inflows to the country and a more stable level of international investment.

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CME Group has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Japan’s largest derivatives market, the Osaka Securities Exchange, under which both parties will jointly develop new products and services. The agreement is part of the US derivatives exchange’s plans to expand its global footprint to the BRIC countries.

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ISI Emerging Markets has entered into an agreement to acquire a copy of the Reuters EcoWin Economics Database from Thomson Reuters in order to enhance its coverage of the Asian region.

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FIX Protocol Limited (FPL) has launched a new reduced cost membership category that aims to encourage firms located within emerging markets to join and become active participants within FPL.

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Euroclear Bank is seeking to upgrade its Hong Kong office into a fully-fledged branch office – pending a licence from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority – and to staff it with up to 25 more operations personnel and some senior level operations executives and legal staff, to offer improved services to its clients in Asia from April.

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KRX (Korea Exchange) and Cambodia plan to set up a joint exchange in the Southeast Asian country in 2009 for equities and bonds. An agreement was signed on January 22 between Cambodia and representatives from South Korea’s stock exchange operator to establish Cambodia’s first stock market in 2009.

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The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) hopes to open a new stock market in the first half of the year aimed at growth enterprises, chairman Shang Fulin told the national work conference on securities and futures supervision, China Daily reports. His comment was the first official confirmation of a timeframe for the establishment of the long-anticipated second board market.

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Islamabad Stock Exchange (ISE), the newest of the three registered stock exchanges in Pakistan, is seeking to enter into a strategic alliance/partnership with any leading international stock exchange/operator with a view to bringing the benefits of globalisation of the exchange industry to its local investors, and open up its exchange for cross-border tie-ups.

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Mainland China’s equity market will continue to grow and become more open to global investors, although the Chinese Government’s monetary policy shift may slow down growth in 2008. In contrast, Hong Kong’s equity market is already quite mature and open, finds Celent’s latest report, Equity Market Trends in Mainland China and Hong Kong.

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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is setting up two large data centres in Maharashtra and upgrading its IT infrastructure and software in a contract with software exporter HCL Technologies, reports The Economic Times in India.

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NYSE, the subsidiary of NYSE Euronext, has opened an office in Beijing, after it became the first foreign exchange to obtain approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission to do so on September 4.

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Thailand Securities Depository (TSD) will bring its services into line with those of the Group of 30 (G30), the international body promoting standards in clearing and settlement. This, in turn, will move the Thai capital market’s performance closer to the International Organization of Securities Commission (IOSCO)’s benchmarks, TSD says.

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Singapore Exchange (SGX) has received in-principle approval to set up a representative office in China. This will, it hopes, increase the profile of SGX in China and foster closer working relationships with key stakeholders, including relevant Chinese authorities and SGX-listed companies.

“Having a physical presence in China will deepen our appreciation of its capital market, thus enhancing our ability to meet the funding needs of Chinese companies. This further strengthens our position as the Asian hub for listing,” says Gan Seow Ann, senior executive vice president and head of markets, SGX.

The SGX representative office will be set up in Beijing. An announcement on the official opening of the representative office will be made when the registration process is completed.

China Merchants Bank (CMB) has gone live with a market risk and portfolio management solution from Misys. CMB became one of the first banks in China to install a first generation Misys Opics solution in 2004. As the risk management mandate has continued to evolve, however, CMB needed a more complex risk management solution, and has chosen to leverage its strategic relationship with Misys and implement Misys Opics Risk Plus.

The Prime Minister of Cambodia last month officially launched the country’s Financial Sector Development Strategy for 2006-2015, which sets out plans for the development of the nation’s capital markets. Speaking at the opening of the Conference on the Royal Government of Cambodia-Asian Development Bank Partnership Toward an Integrated and Sound Financial System in Phnom Penh, Samdech Hun Sen said “the introduction of a financial market is very important”.

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