HSBC plans to cut adviser jobs

HSBC Holdings Plc plans to cut about 700 employees who offer clients face-to-face advice on financial products in branches, a person briefed on the talks said.

Employees are being informed Thursday of the reductions across the UK, said the person, who declined to be identified as the plan hasn't been made public. The London-based bank will retain about 500 advisers after the cuts.

Exchange Fund $319.93 b: HKMA

The total assets of the Exchange Fund, which is used to back the Hong Kong dollar, amounted to HK$2,490.1 billion ($319.93 billion) at the end of May, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said on Thursday.

The figure was HK$43.4 billion higher than the total at the end of April, with foreign currency assets and Hong Kong dollar assets rising HK$11.1 billion and HK$32.3 billion respectively, the city's de facto central bank said in a statement.

Banks asked to hold more reserves

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is asking local banks to set more capital aside to protect against non-performing loans to cope with "rapid loan growth" in the city and safeguard against market downturns, the regulator said on Thursday.

The HKMA has talked to lenders about increasing reserve requirements at all banks in Hong Kong this year to strengthen their stability, Apple Daily reported on Thursday, citing the HKMA's Deputy Chief Executive Arthur Yuen.

"Half of the banks in Hong Kong have agreed with the implementation timetable, and the level of the regulatory requirement," the HKMA said in an e-mailed response to questions about the increase.

The reserve requirement will depend on each bank's individual loan total, it said.

China Resources Cement signs loan

China Resources Cement Holdings Ltd signed a HK$1.5 billion term loan due June 2014, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The funds will be used for general corporate purposes and the facility was arranged by HSBC Holdings Plc, Mizuho Financial Group Inc and Sumitomo Mitsiu Banking Corp, the data show.

Datang plans farms in Inner Mongolia

China Datang Corp, the country's second-biggest power producer, plans to build 400 megawatts of wind farms in Inner Mongolia to increase more power generated from the cleaner resource.

Its Inner Mongolia Datang International Wind Power Development Co unit will manage the projects in Xilinguole, China Datang, the parent of Datang International Power Generation Co, said in a website statement on Wednesday. Financial details and construction schedules weren't disclosed.

Sino-Forest unit no Muddy Waters link

Greenheart Group Ltd, controlled by Sino-Forest Corp, said it has had no interaction with Muddy Waters LLC after founder Carson Block said he would investigate the unit.

"If Muddy Waters has any questions, we welcome them to call us and we'll talk to them, just like everybody else," Chief Executive Officer Judson Martin told reporters in Hong Kong after Greenheart's annual general meeting on Thursday.

"It's disappointing that our share price has gone down the way it has," Martin said referring to the 62 percent decline since June 1, the day before Block released his report on Sino-Forest. "It's gone down not based on the fundamentals of the company's operation, it's gone down due to extraneous factors of our major shareholder."

Bloomberg - Reuters

(HK Edition 07/01/2011 page2)