Swiss watch exports plunge

Swiss watch exports saw their biggest decline in six years in October, led by a 39-percent slump in shipments to Hong Kong - the industry's largest market. Shipments plunged 12 percent to 2 billion Swiss francs ($2 billion), the Swiss customs office said on Thursday. Adjusted for fewer working days, the drop was 7.6 percent, while exports to the US also slipped 12 percent. "This year has been one to forget for the watchmakers," said Jon Cox, an analyst at Kepler Cheuvreux in Zurich. Hong Kong's lead against the US is eroding seven years after becoming the world's biggest marketplace for Swiss watches.

HKEx to introduce futures-stocks link

Hong Kong's bourse plans to offer a futures contract on the price gap between stocks that trade in both the city and on the mainland. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEx) will introduce the futures in the first three months of 2016, Kevin Rideout, head of business development at the bourse operator, said in Singapore on Thursday. The Hang Seng China AH Premium Index, which tracks the price differences between dual-listed shares, signals that mainland equities are currently 38 percent more expensive than their Hong Kong equivalents. "Given the valuation discrepancy at the moment, I'm sure there would be interest in it," said Robert Buckley, a managing partner for Asia at Aviate Global LLP in Hong Kong.

Depreciation bets on yuan shrink

Pressure for the yuan to weaken in Hong Kong is receding after the mainland tightened curbs on its flow to offshore banks - a move that's made it more expensive to borrow and short the currency. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) has given verbal guidance to onshore lenders to stop offering cross-border financing to offshore banks, according to people familiar with the matter. The monetary authority has also told overseas banks to halt onshore bond repurchases, two of them said. The freely-traded offshore rate is 0.4 percent weaker than the onshore level. The Hong Kong rate swung rapidly from a loss to a gain on Monday afternoon amid suspected intervention by the PBOC after the discount exceeded 0.6 percent.

Mainland stocks halt losing streak

Mainland stocks climbed in Hong Kong and Shanghai on Thursday as Apple Inc suppliers rallied after the mainland said it would help manufacturers upgrade their technology and minutes from a US Federal Reserve meeting signaled that the pace of US interest-rate increases will be gradual. The Shanghai Composite Index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng China Enterprises Index both rose 1.4 percent at the close. GoerTek Inc, a supplier to the iPhone maker, surged 10 percent. Energy and financial companies were among the best performers in Hong Kong, with China Petroleum & Chemical Corp gaining at least 2.2 percent. The H-shares gauge rose the most in a week and climbed above the 50-day moving average.

China Daily - Bloomberg

(HK Edition 11/20/2015 page8)