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Group of “wise men” to be appointed to sharpen bank focus

HongKong Land 2010/2015

IFC/ADB 2015

Thinking big: Temasek Holdings

Government hopes fresh funding will tip balance on marginal infrastructure projects

Princeton's Peter B. Kenen speaks at the Institute for International Economics, Washington, DC

Bolivian Minister of Hydrocarbons, Andres Soliz Rada, said on May 3 that the assets of foreign oil companies in Bolivia could be expropriated as an extreme measure, if the companies fail to renegotiate their contracts within a period of 180 days. The move will be part of the hydrocarbons sector nationalisation decree, signed by Bolivian President Evo Morales on May 1, which obliges foreign private oil and gas companies in Bolivia to sign new contracts, giving the state a majority stake in oil and gas installations. The Bolivian army has already occupied 56 oil and gas fields in the country, preventing commercial oil and gas companies from operating. San Alberto and San Antonio, Bolivia’s largest two oil and gas fields, will continue operating, but 82% of output will go to the state and the remaining 18% to the operating companies: French Total, Spanish Repsol and Brazil Petrobras.

BNP Paribas has hired Andrew Goldberg, head of foreign exchange options trading at Citigroup in New York. Kerrie McHugh, BNP spokeswoman, said Goldberg will start mid-summer as managing director and North American head of fx options, reporting to Hubert de Lambilly, global head of fx options in London. He is an addition to the desk. Mark Thomlinson, senior fx options trader at Citi, is acting head in the interim. Joseph Christinat, Citi spokesman, did not immediately return calls.

Morgan Stanley has hired Jeff Walsh and Matt Bagley to work on its high-yield trading desk.

Taiwanese life insurance firms' hefty appetite for global synthetic CDOs is approaching its end, as foreign investment quotas are being reached. Insurers have a limit of 35% of investment assets in overseas products, regardless of whether they are hedged in local currency, and credit officials noted the party appears to be coming to an end.

South Africa's Standard Bank has established an onshore fx and rates business in Taiwan as part of the bank's push in the region. Charles Chen, head of treasury at Toronto Dominion Bank in Taipei, has joined as head of global markets for Taiwan to spearhead the effort and has recruited a team of five, according to Michele Maffei, managing director and head of global markets for Asia, based in Hong Kong. Maffei transferred from London at the onset of the year to build up the bank's presence in Asia (DW, 1/27). He is in the process of recruiting over 20 staff for sales and trading functions in rates, fx and credit.

U.S. equity derivatives dealers are seeing a pickup in interest from hedge funds and prop desks in one-by-two put spreads on the Standard & Poor's 500. In a one-by-two put spread, investors sell twice as many lower-strike puts as buying upper-strike puts, to express a view realized variance and volatility will remain low and range-bound. The premium made from selling the puts reduces the cost of the trade in the event realized variance rises. Dealers are becoming more comfortable with the product and are able to offer larger trades at tighter spreads, and clients are responding to the view that realized vol will remain low and in range. One trader said USD2 million of put spreads traded last week.