On this Week’s Market Summary:

💡1. The Hong Kong asset management arm of China International Capital Corporation, has launched the first carbon credit exchange traded fund (ETF) in China. The CICC Carbon Futures ETF debuted on Hong Kong’s stock exchange on Wednesday. It invests in the futures contracts of carbon emission permits traded in the European Union. The ETF product tracks the ICE EU allowance carbon futures index, which generated an annualised return of 41.5 per cent in the past eight years. CICC’s product is the latest in a string of carbon credit-linked ETFs. Eleven have been listed for public trading in the US, South Korea, Ireland and Canada in the past four years, their combined fund size amounts to around US$2 billion.

💡2. Hong Kong suspended trading in shares of the world’s most indebted property developer Evergrande pending a release of “inside information” from the Chinese company that could shed light on its restructuring and the fate of international investors. The real estate developer, which defaulted on its international debts last year alongside a host of its peers, is at the centre of a nationwide liquidity crisis across China’s property sector, which drives economic growth and underpins employment. Evergrande’s restructuring is a defining moment in the history of Asia’s dollar bond market. The company borrowed more than $20bn in dollar-denominated bonds of its more than $300bn in liabilities.

💡3. Foreign investors have dumped a record $6bn worth of Chinese shares in the first three months of 2022 as they take fright at new corona virus outbreaks and the risk that western countries will sanction Beijing if it supports Russia’s war in Ukraine. Local investments have edged back up after Beijing signalled it would take a suite of market-friendly measures. But foreign holdings of stocks listed in mainland China have not. Chinese equities have lagged all year. The benchmark CSI 300 index is just 4 per cent above where it stood at the end of 2019, when the first Covid-19 outbreaks were reported in China. The Nasdaq Golden Dragons index of large Chinese tech groups listed in New York has dropped by about a quarter.

💡4. Central banks have intensified discussions with energy trading firms to ease market strains, but are unlikely to unlock immediate extra support. Top energy market executives express their alarm in commodity futures prices, which are hampering risk management and threatening the smooth flow of physical assets around the world. But the central bank thinks that existing facilities already offer a cushion against a potential worsening in market conditions. Russia’s invasion has fired up the cost of commodities it produces which means traders’ hedges against falling prices have become heavily loss making, triggering demands for more margin.

                            ————————————————

One of the must-ask interview questions for banking and finance is: “Have you read any news recently?”, with the follow-up questions: “How would you link this news to the market and what investment suggestions would you give to your clients based on this news?” .

Showing your market sense and ability to provide feasible investment ideas would help to differentiate you from other candidates. Therefore, apart from the weekly news update / investment insights, we have also generated this Weekly Market Summary for you to have a quick understanding of the market development and tips to answer some hot discussion topics. Take a look of the summary and WhatsApp us in the group if you have questions.