Securities Firms Set Eye on Central Asian Market

Securities companies are accelerating efforts to boost their global networks by setting up beachheads overseas in line with the Capital Market Consolidation Act.

Brokerage houses such as Daishin and Daewoo are lining up this year to set up offices in oil-rich Kazakhstan.

Daishin Securities said the Central Asian country is attractive because of its abundant energy reserves, and an increasing number of domestic companies are looking to expand there.

By setting up its base there ahead of others, it plans to increase its services to firms with the aim of becoming a global investment bank.

After making inroads into China, Vietnam and Indonesia, Daewoo Securities is also considering Kazakhstan as its next growth platform. It said it plans to set up a unit there to expand services in the Central Asian region.

Hyundai Securities, meanwhile, is aiming to launch a fund investing in energy companies in Kazakhstan by the end of this month.

Woori Investment & Securities, Korea Investment & Securities and Goodmorning Shinhan Securities are also considering expanding into Central Asia this year.

Mirae Asset Securities plans to open offices in India this year. The company with its sister firm, Mirae Asset Investments, plans to establish bases in the United States. Mirae Asset Group already has units in Hong Kong, China, Vietnam and the U.K. so far. Park Hyun-joo, the group chairman, noted in his New Year speech that it is time to ambitiously seek overseas markets for further growth.

Woori Investment is aiming to build up networks in Southeast Asia by launching its first global hedge fund operated in Singapore. It said the fund will invest in a variety of products such as equities, real estate and energy, targeting annual returns of 20 percent.

FUTURE CAPITAL HOLDINGS LIMITED - the new IPO

Forthcoming Issue at NSE

FUTURE CAPITAL HOLDINGS LIMITED
Symbol - Series FCH EQ
Issue Period : January 11, 2008 to January 16, 2008
Issue Size : 6422800 Equity Shares
Issue Type : 100% Book Building
Face Value : Rs. 10/-
Price Range : Rs 700 to Rs 765
Tick Size :Re. 1/-
Market Lot : 8 shares
Minimum Order Quantity : 8 shares
Maximum Subscription Amount for Retail Investor : Rs.100000
IPO Market Timings 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.
Book Running Lead Manager Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Limited, Enam Securities Private Limited, JM Financial Consultants Private Limited, and UBS Securities India Private Limited
Syndicate Member Kotak Securities Limited, Enam Securities Private Limited, and JM Financial Services Private Limited
Categories FI, IC, VC, MF, FII, FVCI, SIDC, PF, PEF, MLA, BDFI, CO, IND, HUF, NRI, and OTH
No. of Cities with Bidding Centers 59
Inclusion in F&O Segment Not Eligible
Name of the registrar INTIME SPECTRUM REGISTRY LIMITED
Address of the registrar C-13, Pannalal Silk Mills Compound, LBS Marg, Bhandup (West), Mumbai 400 078 India
Contact person name number and Email id Contact Person Mr. Sachin Achar,Tel 91 22 2596 3838 ,Fax 91 22 2596 6969,Email fch.ipo@intimespectrum.com

Securities in ban period for trade date January 10, 2008- F&O segment

Securities in ban period for trade date January 10, 2008- F&O segment

The derivative contracts in the below mentioned securities have crossed 95% of the market-wide position limit and are currently in the ban period. It is hereby informed that all clients/ members shall trade in the derivative contracts of said securities only to decrease their positions through offsetting positions. Any increase in open positions shall attract appropriate penal and disciplinary action in accordance with the Circular No. NSCC/F&O/C&S/365 dated August 26, 2004.

Sr.No.	Symbol
1	ADLABSFILM
2	APTECHT
3	ARVINDMILL
4	BINDALAGRO
5	BONGAIREFN
6	GMRINFRA
7	HINDOILEXP
8	HOTELEELA
9	IFCI
10	ISPATIND
11	IVRPRIME
12	NAGARFERT
13	PARSVNATH
14	RAJESHEXPO
15	RPL
16	SRF
17	TTML

Rupee stopped in its tracks by RBI - dealers

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The rupee eased a tad on Wednesday after trading in a tight range, with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) holding off the Indian unit from testing a 10-year high, dealers said.

The partially convertible rupee ended at 39.28/29 per dollar, softer than the previous close of 39.265/275.

The rupee hit a peak of 39.16 in November, its highest in almost 10 years, and suspected RBI intervention has repeatedly blocked attempts to test the level this week.

"The rupee is stuck around this mark, and there's very little anyone can do about it at the moment," said a dealer with a private bank.

The market seemed resolved to selling rupees to the RBI, that is said to intervene to reduce volatility and help defend exporters' margins, which were dented by the local unit's 12 percent rise in 2007.

The rupee received little direction from the benchmark share index, which ended flat in choppy trade after hitting a fifth record high of the new year.

With strong capital flows slated for a slew of initial share offerings expected to continue, the rupee is expected to gradually appreciate, dealers said.

Utility Reliance Power is set to raise up to $3 billion in an initial public offer next week, which would be India's biggest-ever IPO.

100 FIIs register with Sebi, after the November announcement

About 100 foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and twice as many sub-accounts have registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India, or Sebi, since November, signalling foreign investors’ increasing appetite for Indian stocks as well as the Indian capital market regulator’s promptness in clearing applications.

Sebi had imposed restrictions on the use of participatory notes (PNs) to invest in Indian stock market in mid-October, but promised to ease the application process for unregistered entities participating in India’s capital market. This step, according to Sebi, was taken to increase transparency in Indian markets by monitoring the credentials of all foreign investors in the domestic market.

Participatory notes, a popular investment instrument among unregistered foreign investors, are contract notes. Registered FIIs issue these notes to their clients who wish to take exposure in Indian stocks without directly registering with Sebi. The FIIs purchase Indian securities through their account and then issue an offshore derivative of these securities to the clients for a fixed fee.

The number of FIIs registered in India toward the end of 2006 was well below 1,000. However, at the end of 2007, this number went up to 1,219, at least 20% increase. The registered sub-accounts of these FIIs also went up significantly to 3,644.

“We are still investing through participatory notes, but the capacity is constrained,” says Tarun Gandhi, an executive at investment fund house Spinnaker Capital Group, which received a FII license on 7 January.

According to Gandhi, his firm may continue to invest in India through PNs. “It takes away lot of administrative hassles,” he said. “On the other hand, investing yourself is a cumbersome process.”

This is because when a foreign entity or a hedge fund invests in India through PNs, all the paper work and settlement is taken care of by the PN issuer (mostly large brokerages), for a nominal fee. On the other hand, if these entities are to invest and maintain a portfolio under their own account, they have to take the onus of preparing the transaction-related documents.

According to the announcements made by Sebi after the clampdown on PNs, the time involved in processing an FII application was significantly reduced while also scrapping the practice of re-application by registered FIIs after a stipulated period to renew their account.

Anoop Sethi, Singapore-based executive of US-based hedge fund Indus Capital Partners, which focuses on investments in Asian stocks, says that though many foreign investors have registered with the Indian regulator, there is no real difference in the application process. Sebi cleared Indus’ application for FII status on 16 November.

“Many of these newly registered FIIs (after November) would have been eligible to get registered earlier as well, but they were investing through PNs because of convenience,” said U.R. Bhat, managing director of Dalton Capital Advisors (India) Pvt. Ltd, the Indian arm of a global hedge fund group. “Getting registered as an FII does not essentially mean that the firm will immediately start investing in India. When the PN window was closed, many firms chose to register to keep open the option of investing in India.”

Sebi had opened doors for FIIs to enter Indian stock market in December 1993. Since then, FIIs have invested $66.8 billion in Indian equities net of sale. In 2007, FIIs invested a record $17.2 billion (Rs67,596 crore) in Indian markets.

According to foreign fund managers, erstwhile PN investors are now rushing to get registered as FIIs but they have not started purchasing Indian stocks through newly registered accounts. In the first five trade sessions in 2008, they have invested a net $478 million in Indian equities.