Committee OCS affiliates in Bangkok, Thailand, the PCS host this event. This is the first time in 111 years, Director of the OCS Group, has the honor to participate in the conference outside the UK which shows that Thailand and South Asia, high-performance operation. International business strategy. The Board of Directors has also revealed many new strategies, business models. For expanding integrated property support services to Asia Pacific.

Mr.Chris Cracknell CEO OCS Group, said: “Network OCS Group is aimed to expand its operations both in terms of quality and type of service. By setting the first goal in Asia is expanding our business. Since this market has great potential, consistent with the strategy of the OCS in the present also Mr.Chris also added that “PCS Thailand serve as leaders in the implementation of the policy of expansion into the region. Asia this year, we believe that ultimately PCS will be able to create a pioneer. San growth, certainly.”

PCS Thailand is a leading property support services business in Thailand today. With more than 23,000 employees who work in 14 branch offices to serve customers in more than 5,000 nationwide. Which range from entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized businesses. To the well-known large companies, many of As a center of operations in Malaysia, Cambodia, Bangladesh and India.

Mrs.Heather Suksem Managing director of Property Care Services (Thailand) Co., Ltd. “We are ready implementation of the strategy of expanding its network of fully To promote the PCS becomes property support services company level. In the Asia. We recognize that growing this organization is an important duty as well as to support our customer’s business.”

Operation of PCS in Thailand focuses on promoting the company’s customers can concentrate on their business. He fully Without concerns about maintenance or troubleshooting. On their own property. The PCS is an innovator and solution for property support fully. Relentless cycle. And the importance of training and staff development continued.

Content of strategy in 2011 is to build partnership alliances with other business units. That can extend the services of PCS. Along with expanding the organization from Thailand to other countries in both the short and long term.

PCS is focused on bringing care real estate services to clients in The current service only in certain categories. In response to a rapid development of the property market, which still have High growth potential in the soon to open the PCS joint venture property support services complex. In Vietnam. Followed by Singapore. Philippines and Indonesia next.

Advance Material goods group is a new product with a combination of vinyl and other materials. The market for exterior materials such as wood flooring replacement battens Bang Bai etc. withstand the environment. The targets within 5 years from now, will have production capacity in the Advance Material included 10,000 tons per year after the previous company was testing the market for a while and then found. That there was good growth in that direction. The Company intends that the material furnished in this group would have annual sales growth of 15-20% and 30-40% market share.

However, the budget for product development and expansion of production and the second group of over 500 million in this. Due to the growth direction of the market especially A group of decorative vinyl products at the rate of growth per year high. This year, the company estimates that the total market Decoration Vinyl will have growth rates as high as 40% this year, the company targets a growth rate of sales of goods, vinyl 20%, or sales. Total 1,400 million Baht

” The company has plans to expand long-term five years by increasing capacity and increasing distribution channels. As well as awareness and the development of new products. Out to meet the needs of customers in a variety of current. The targets within 5 years from now, the company will have sales increased to 4000-5000 million, while marketing and sales channel. Includes activities to create knowledge. And awareness of Real Estate products, vinyl products. The company’s consumer-driven products for vinyl group can grow. Moreover, the Real Estate market share increase It is expected that in the last 5 years vinyl groups will share the materials furnished by the total market. Which is worth 25,000 million baht rose to 30-40% from the share is 10%. ”

After the company is a pioneer in Real Estate market vinyl. The awareness of the product and market expansion. Continuously over 11 years as highly successful in marketing products of vinyl. For home decoration. Especially the doors and windows products. That resulted in the current brand “WINDSOR and partner” with sales of 1,200 million shares in the market or vinyl type of door and window market. Which total more than 2000 million, over 80%.

The company’s revenue comes from selling the project to allocate 40% of the remaining 60% are retail customers, to construction companies and government projects. Including direct sales to consumers. Customers and 2. Groups are shopping. At a workshop of its Thai stores. Cement Holdings Mart. Purchase products with installation, through member franchise of the company’s open Branches across the country for more than 40 cases.

Mr.Porames, said product marketing vinyl for Real Estate is currently estimated at approximately 5,000 million divided into groups on the doors and windows of 2,000 million baht Products Interior 500 million, while the remaining 2,500 million baht a product group. Others, such as dressing tables, chairs, rain gutter, etc. However, summerhouse. Vinyl groups. For decorating the house, be deemed to have shared in the other home decor products such as wood, aluminum, plastic has a few more today. The share is only 10% of total Real Estate market by approximately 25,000 million Baht

” The numbers that the total market. We estimate the total construction work across the country each year. Each year, a total new home. The allocation of the project. And custom home building from across the country including more than 500,000 units, divided into housing and condominium projects in Bangkok and the provinces of approximately 50,000 units per year, the rest is in custom home building. Bangkok and other provinces. The estimated number of home decoration materials as a whole has more than 25,000 million baht. ”

In order to expand market Awareness of the product. Including awareness of the features of the decoration products, vinyl group. The company will focus on activities to educate architects. And the allocation of entrepreneurial projects. Which is to educate the operators to bring products to develop. Housing and condominiums increased. “

As many as half of the ads in some markets fall into that category. In the past, property prices in difficulty were well below those of traditional retailers. However, while you can still get a good deal, is not as easy as it once was. And investors should perform due diligence and be aware of potential problems before you ask what type of property.

Dick McCole RE / MAX Realty Affiliates in Gardnerville, Nevada, specializes in working with investors and also holds the Certified Distressed Property Expert designation, in that it is trained to work with buyers and sellers of properties in distress. We inform our clients of the opportunities and pitfalls of investing in such properties.

Some years ago, McCole said, investors were primarily interested in foreclosures lender owned because of the extraordinary values they represented.

More competition for foreclosures
“But now, they’re also looking at more traditional outlets,” he says. “The price break on foreclosures is becoming less and less, for a variety of reasons. With the inventory of properties fall, there’s more competition for lower-end homes, both among investors and buyers looking for a house .. ”

Another factor: the lenders are less willing to accept extremely low offers.

“In the past, you may sometimes offer them 50 cents on the dollar and had accepted it,” says McCole. “Today, instead of accepting an offer really low, they reject or dispute. And usually closer to the asking price..” The short sale market is picking up, says McCole.

“You’re probably going to get a better deal than with a foreclosure,” he says. “The other thing is that the short sale properties are usually occupied by the owners, and will not face problems of deferred maintenance as you do with foreclosures.”.

A control is crucial, especially with a foreclosure that may have been occupied for months. The previous owners may have damaged the property or removed appliances and fixtures.

Inspect utility Hon
“We need to insist on the inspections with the utilities turned on,” says McCole. “If a property has been sitting empty for a long time, and showers and dishwashers are not going, gaskets and washers, rubber can dry out and create losses..”

With a foreclosure, repair costs often amount to 10 to 20 percent of the sales price, says McCole.

Yet, if you find a property at a good price and repair costs seem reasonable, a property in distress can be a good option.

“You have a good chance of recovering costs and end up with a good long term investment.”

The Chinese Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development in association with the State Administration of Foreign Exchange issued a joint statement regarding the fresh rules that allow foreign companies to purchase only such commercial property, which are intended for their own use. In addition, the existing restrictions that limit foreign individuals from purchasing a single residential unit per person for self-use were reimposed.

Economists feel that this restrictive move would have minimal effect on the economy as a whole, as data from the National Bureau of Statistics reveals that foreign investments accounted for 0.8% of property development in Chinain 2009.

However, the lack of clarity about the proposed regulations could add an element of uncertainty to the real estate market in China, which is rife with issues such as volatility and sharp increases in property values.

Industry experts believe that the new restrictions are aimed to keep a tight rein on capital inflows into the real estate market to clamp down on illegitimate investments in the property market and avert an asset bubble. Property prices in China had increased 9.1% and 8.6% in September and October 2010 respectively compared to the year-earlier period.

Investors are speculating that under the new rules, government might prevent a foreign investor from paying an astronomical price for an office building on one hand and approve huge redevelopment costs on a dilapidated asset on the other.

The recent developments could hamper the long-term plans of U.S. REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) such as ProLogis (PLD: 12.88 0.00 0.00%) and AMB Property Corp. (AMB: 27.77 0.00 0.00%) that have significant interests in the mainland. Nevertheless, the U.S. REITs and private equity firms that have invested in Chinese real estate companies are presently keeping a close tab on the developments and waiting for the uncertainty to pan out.

The difference between the central bank‘s 10.75 percent overnight Selic and the government lender’s long-term rate that monetary authorities agreed last week to keep at 6 percent grew to 475 basis points from 275 in March, as policy makers boosted borrowing costs to contain price increases. The gap is the largest since March 2009 when it was at 500 basis points.

Brazil’s benchmark lending rate, the second-highest among the Group of 20 countries after Argentina’s, may climb 150 basis points next year as the government-run bank known as BNDES provides record subsidized credit, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Yields on the interbank rate futures contract due in January 2012, the most traded in Sao Paulo, rose 23 basis points last month to 11.50 percent, implying an increase in the Selic to at least 12.25 percent by the end of 2011, the data show.

“BNDES reduces the effectiveness of the monetary policy, not only due to this differential, but also to the volume of this lending,” said Zeina Latif, a senior economist for Latin America at RBS Securities Inc. in Sao Paulo. “We have the central bank tightening and on the other hand an expansionary policy by BNDES. The challenge for the new administration in terms of the economic policy is to decelerate bank lending by the BNDES and reduce spending.”

Second Round
Brazilian voters pushed the election for president into a second round yesterday, after no candidate won more than 50 percent in the initial ballot. Lula’s former cabinet chief, Dilma Rousseff, will face former Sao Paulo Governor Jose Serra in a runoff later this month, electoral authorities said.

In their campaigns, both Rousseff, 62, and Serra, 68, vowed to keep inflation under control.

Annual inflation as measured by Brazil’s benchmark IPCA-15 price index quickened to 4.57 percent in the 12 months through mid-September from 4.44 percent in mid-August.

Brazil’s local-currency 10-year bonds due in 2021 yield 11.9 percent compared with 7.9 percent on comparable securities in India, 7.4 percent in Russia and about 3.3 percent in China.

Lending Grows
BNDES, based in Rio de Janeiro, more than doubled lending to Brazilian companies to 137.4 billion reais ($82 billion) last year — exceeding the $72.2 billion lent globally by the World Bank in the fiscal year ended in June. The bank granted 135 billion reais in loans in the 12 months through July, 12 percent more than a year earlier. As of July, BNDES had also approved future loans for projects worth 182 billion reais.

The lending is helping fuel the expansion in Latin America’s largest economy. Gross domestic product will grow more 7 percent this year for the first time since 1986, according to central bank estimates.

The central bank, led by President Henrique Meirelles, lifted the overnight rate three times this year from a record low 8.75 percent before holding it unchanged on Sept. 1. The National Monetary Council, which sets the BNDES lending rate and is headed by Finance Minister Guido Mantega, has kept it unchanged at 6 percent since July 2009.

Alexandre Schwartsman, the chief economist at Banco Santander in Sao Paulo, estimates every percentage-point gap between the long term rate of BNDES, known as the TJLP, and the Selic costs the government about 4 billion reais.

Alternative Sources
The increase in BNDES loans and the level of subsidies reduce the incentive for companies to seek alternative sources of funding, hurting the development of the country’s capital markets, according to Schwartsman.

“You distribute free lollipops and then you say the national lollipop industry is unable to supply the demand,” Schwartsman said in a phone interview. “And then you increase the supply of free lollipops. This is a curious way of stimulating the market.”

Rousseff said in May the government doesn’t have the resources to fund all long-term investments and that Brazil will need to rely more on the capital markets for investments, according to a transcript of an interview on her website.

Mantega said in a July 23 interview that the government was considering tax breaks to stimulate long-term lending in a bid to reduce the burden on BNDES.

“BNDES needs to rely more on the market and less on the government” he said.

Yields on Brazil’s interbank rate futures contract due in January 2012 fell six basis points to 11.44 percent on Oct. 1 after a government report showed industrial output fell in August from July.

Yields Fall
The extra yield investors demand to own Brazilian dollar bonds instead of U.S. Treasuries declined three basis points Oct. 1 to 203, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. indexes.

The cost of protecting Brazilian bonds against default for five years using credit-default swaps fell two basis points to 113 basis points, according to data provider CMA. The contracts pay the buyer face value in exchange for the underlying securities or the cash equivalent should a government or company fail to adhere to its debt agreements.

The real weakened 0.1 percent to 1.6897 per dollar on Oct. 1. The currency is up 59 percent since the end of 2008.

Dollar Purchases
Brazil’s central bank has purchased dollars every day since May 7, 2009, to slow the currency’s advance. The real may strengthen ahead of the presidential runoff, Tony Volpon, a Latin America strategist at Nomura Securities International Inc. in New York, said in a telephone interview yesterday. The election results probably will discourage the Finance Ministry from taking measures to stem the appreciation before the next round of voting, he said.

“Given the fact we’re going to have a second round, the fact that Dilma’s poll numbers have steadily gotten worse, from a policy perspective I would expect them not to do anything that could be seen as controversial or headline-grabbing,” Volpon said.

Policy makers cut their 2011 inflation forecast last week to 4.6 percent from 5 percent in June. Inflation will converge to the central bank’s 4.5 percent target as the economy expands at a level more “consistent” with its long-term equilibrium, the central bank said in a Sept. 30 report.

Brazil’s Treasury lent 205 billion reais to BNDES by transferring to the bank public bonds since 2008, helping spark an increase in the country’s gross debt to 59.4 percent in August from 56.4 percent in December 2006, when the central bank series starts. The government approved on Sept. 27 an additional loan of as much as 30 billion reais that will be used by BNDES to pay for shares in state-owned oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA.

Dangerous
The Finance Ministry declined to comment in an e-mailed statement and referred to Lula??s decision on Sept. 27 to inject up to 30 billion reais into the BNDES to support Petrobras’s share sale without hurting the bank??s lending ability.

Total outstanding loans by BNDES will jump to 10.9 percent of gross domestic product next year from 6.3 percent when Lula first took office in 2003, according to estimates by Alexandre Andrade, an economist at Sao Paulo-based research company Tendencias Consultoria Integrada. The rate was at 9.8 percent in August.

“To use the BNDES to increase even more the government’s development project instead of stimulating private investments is dangerous,” Felipe Salto, an analyst at Tendencias Consultoria, said in a phone interview. “Brazil needs a development bank because it is necessary to fuel infrastructure investments, but there is a limit. To issue 200 billion reais in debt, increasing the fiscal risk, to grant loans to half a dozen companies doesn’t make sense from the economic point of view.”

The Northern Utah real estate market has great appeal for both buyers & sellers. One of the reasons is that North of Logan there are many wonderful little communities. They include North Logan, Hyde Park, Smithfield, Richmond, Cove, Lewiston, Cornish, Trenton, Amalga, Clarkston, and Newton. North Logan, Hyde Park, and Smithfield are busy parts of the Logan metropolitan area. There are many business and shopping opportunities in these three communities. North of Smithfield the feeling changes to rural farm towns. This gives the real estate market here a wide variety of options to choose from.

Today real estate investment is among one of the most popular businesses and a large number of buyers and sellers are making investment in the real estate market. Real estate investment requires proper knowledge and concentration to invest at the right place & at the right time. Utah is a beautiful state which offers a wide choice of real estate investment opportunities to interested buyers and sellers. The north end of Cache Valley in Northern Utah has infinite recreational opportunities. There are many small canyons in the mountains in these areas. These canyons are great for hiking, fishing, camping, four wheeling, and hunting.

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Lisa Udy is a full-time professional Real Estate Agent in Logan Utah and all of Cache Valley. As a lifelong resident, she loves to call Cache Valley her home, and has spent countless hours getting to know the area and all it has to offer. Youngblood Real Estate LLC. is a small, local office specializing in personal, expert services, where The Lisa Udy Team, consists of a Team Co-ordinator, a Marketing Specialist, a director of first impressions and Lisa Udy herself. They have more than forty years combined experience & their per agent sales, on average, are higher than any other office in Cache Valley.

Investor Attention on Goa for India Real Estate Investment

There is no doubt that the U.S. real estate and mortgage problems of 2006 into 2010 have disturbed markets around the world. Many countries have suffered, with previously robust real estate markets languishing without international investment due to current conservative attitudes. India is no exception, with residential and commercial real estate development in India slowing during the last three years.

However, international investment may be experiencing renewed interest in the country, and India itself is continuing and expanding government initiatives through housing boards situated throughout this nation of more than one billion population. Being one of the most populated countries in the world, housing is at the top of the government’s list of importance for their citizens.

However, when it comes to interest from foreign investors, tourism plays an important part. Goa, India’s smallest state, is also the fourth smallest state in population. Situated on India’s west coast in the Konkan region, it’s the richest state, with a GDP more than double that of the country as a whole. Both domestic and international tourists flock to Goa for its beaches and architecture influenced by the Portuguese. Wildlife sanctuaries, equatorial forests and beautiful beaches draw tourists, and now real estate investors and developers. With the government owning more than 80% of the forest land, greater land demand should bring upward pressure on prices for future development.

Tourists bring money, not only for temporary enjoyment, but for long term real estate purchases. Tourism is Goa’s primary industry, handling approximately 12% of all of India’s tourist visits. Goa isn’t overly dependent on tourism, as the primarily agricultural area is changing to a more mining focus, with growing discovery of locations rich in minerals and ores. But, tourism is very important when considering real estate investment, as those who return to the area will many times look for a purchase that will appreciate while providing an annual vacation retreat.

Builders and developers in Goa frequently also handle property brokerage. One developer, Riviera Constructions, boasts project completions in 12 to 15 months, well ahead of schedules. These include apartments and India vacation villas, as well as planned resort communities built with international investment as a focus. While sale is the primary goal, they also manage these properties as rentals, and buyers can factor short term rental income into their purchase decisions.

For those vacationers who enjoy pristine beaches and access to equatorial forests, wildlife and the civility of beautiful architecture, restaurants and a focus on tourism, Goa is a great destination. It also seems that it could be a great place to invest in real estate.

Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, told congressional leaders in a letter yesterday that the Fed will seek to renegotiate mortgages it owns that might otherwise enter foreclosure.

It is unclear how many homeowners stand to benefit. Under the program, the Fed can reduce what a homeowner owes on a mortgage, lower the interest rate, lengthen the term of a loan or take other steps to keep a loan from defaulting, if doing so would offer taxpayers a better long-term payoff than foreclosure.

The interesting thing is that this has been going on now for almost a year through reputable loan modification companies.

Scott Jenkins, a homeowner in Irvine CA, worked with Mortgage Modification Legal Network located in California and says. I felt like my mortgage company was giving me the run around and I needed help now. I contacted the Mortgage Modification Legal Network and my mortgage modification was done in 10 days. I truly believe that waiting on the government or federal programs would of landed me in a shelter or even worse.

This latest attempt to help homeowners should be taken with caution. The new policy applies only to mortgages the Fed controls through three companies formed to hold mortgage-related assets it acquired last year from the collapse of investment house Bear Stearns and insurer AIG. Those three companies hold roughly $74 billion in assets. That is only a fraction of the total troubled mortgages and mortgage-backed securities

As in the past government announcements seem to be the lifeline homeowners need to rescue them from foreclosure. Then you look at the fine print. Individual borrowers are unlikely to know whether their mortgages are owned by the Fed, but if they qualify for Loan Modification, they would deal only with their mortgage servicing company.

Trying to figure out if you mortgage is owned by the Fed is more than likely going to be a timely task, something homeowners facing foreclosure can not afford. A loan modification can stop foreclosure and is usually the best option for homeowners. It is recommended that you contact a loan modification attorney for assistance.

The Federal Reserve also announced it will use new tools to stimulate the economy and curb foreclosures. The Federal Reserve on Wednesday kept its benchmark lending rate near zero and said it’s likely to stay that way for some time, while also signaling new efforts to lower home mortgage rates.

The Fed left its target for the fed funds rate unchanged at a range of zero to a quarter-point. This ensures that most consumer lending rates will remain unchanged, too. The Fed promised new steps to boost lending to consumers. It also suggested that it would soon purchase Treasury bonds to decrease other lending rates notably, home mortgage rates and long-term corporate loans.

The Fed has also accepted collateral spurned by private lenders, expanded the kinds of institutions that can borrow from the Fed and extended repayment periods.

All this being said the probability of this having a big impact on the economy and foreclosures is low. A report on Friday is expected to show the economy contracted at a 5.4 percent annual rate in the final three months of last year, which would be the steepest falloff in activity for any quarter since 1982.

Although cost of funds remains high in the money market, THISDAY investigations revealed that some banks have actually cut their lending rates significantly to make it easy for big corporations to access funds, hitherto starched in their coffers.The big corporates, mainly the prime customers of the banks with thriving businesses in the food sector, manufacturing and processing, telecommunications and services among others, are accessing credit from banks at rates in the region of 11 per cent per annum, which is quite low compared to average maximum lending rate in the market at over 20 per cent.

A treasury with one of the banks explained: “There is no high risk premium on the transactions, unlike when lending to other customers of the bank.” He added: “These are people and organisations that the banks have been dealing with, have come to understand their businesses and can predict the future. Remember that the operating business environment in Nigeria is difficult and so when a customer comes to the bank to borrow money, he doesn’t just have to contend with the cost of the funds to the bank but the risks associated with his business, since a bank puts all that into consideration before arriving at the interest rate” he said.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) noted at the end of its monetary policy committee meeting last week that developments in interest rates structure indicated that the retail lending rates were still relatively high even though they were declining.According to the Committee, average maximum lending rate dropped to 22.56 per cent in May 2010, from 23.45 per cent in December, 2009. Also, average prime lending rate fell to 18.77 per cent in May 2010, from 19.03 per cent in December 2009.The result of trading activities at the inter-bank money market showed Nigerian Inter-bank Offer Rates (NIBOR), which had remained at about 1 to 2 per cent increasing last week.

The inter-bank lending rates rose to 8.25 per cent on average from 2 per cent the previous week after NNPC caused a major outflow, by withdrawing about N100 billion from the system. There was outflow to foreign exchange and fixed income securities purchases. There was also a dry up of the fiscal inflow in the system, both factors causing the rates to rise, one of the traders said.The NNPC reportedly sold about $600 million to some banks in the last two weeks and recalled part of the naira proceeds to its CBN account last week in compliance with CBN’s monetary control measures.

At the foreign exchange market, the naira, which gained 5 kobo at the first bi-weekly auction last Monday lost the 5 kobo at the second auction (last Wednesday) to exchange N148.50/$1. At the inter-bank market, the naira eased to N150.22 to the dollar from 149.70, which ended its two-week rally against the dollar.

Interest, Lending, Inter-bank, Securities Trading

As stated earlier, the big corporates majorly – the prime customers of banks with thriving businesses in the food sector, manufacturing and processing, telecommunications and services among others are accessing credit from banks at rates in the region of 11 per cent per annum, which is quite low compared to average maximum lending rate in the market at over 20 per cent. But lending rate to the private sector remains high, with the flow of credit falling to the very low levels.

The CBN in its market and economy review last week noted that as at May, 2010 aggregate domestic credit (net) grew by 12.38 per cent over the December 2009 level, and by 29.72 per cent when annualised, which was still below the 2010 indicative target of 55.54 per cent. Credit to government (net), which grew substantially by 50.87 per cent over end-December 2009 (or 122.1 per cent on annualised basis), was the major contributor. Credit to the private sector declined by 1.88 per cent (or 4.51 per cent on annualided basis), in contrast to the growth benchmark of 31.54 per cent for 2010.

The CBN further disclosed that the substantial growth of credit to government (net) against the backdrop of declining private sector credit reflected the risk aversion of banks to lending to non-government borrowers, adding that the “Committee believes that in order to provide the private sector with the necessary credit to grow the economy, further efforts are needed to unlock the credit market in order to enhance the flow of credit to the real economy.

The CBN noted that average savings rate dropped marginally to 2.92 per cent in May 2010 from 3.36 per cent in December 2009. The consolidated deposit rates declined to 3.30 per cent in May 2010 from 6.13 per cent in December 2009. Thus, the spread between the average maximum lending rate and the consolidated deposit rate widened to 19.27 per cent in May 2010 from 17.34 per cent in December, 2009.

CBN noted that the key policy challenges remained the negative growth in money supply and private sector credit as well as the subsisting high lending rates in the face of declining inter-bank rates.On inter-bank lending, cost of borrowing among banks increased last week, across low and high tenored papers, with the low instruments increasing by much higher percentage points.NIBOR increased to 8.25 per cent on average last week from 2 per cent the previous week, attributed to outflow especially that created by the NNPC that withdrew about N100 billion from the system.

The secured Open Buy Back (OBB) climbed to about 7.50 per cent on the average from 1.50 per cent. Overnight and call rates both rose to 8.5 per cent from 2 per cent and 2.50 per cent respectively.One of the dealers said the rates will most likely go up this week because of the extremely tight liquidity in the system.It was gathered that the opening balance in the accounts of banks with the CBN dropped to N54 billion last Friday from about N230 billion a week ago due to huge outflows.

Forex Transactions

The market indicated last week the gradual resurgence in demand for dollars at the market while dollar supply from the oil majors was drying up. The development triggered low performance of the local currency.Traders said some oil majors sold about $29 million by midweek last week but that the sales were not significant enough to support the naira.

As already indicated, the local currency, which gained by 5 kobo at the first in the bi-weekly auction last Monday when it traded N148.45/$1 as against N148.50/$1 previously, lost the 5 kobo at the second auction (last Wednesday) to exchange N148.50/$1. At the inter-bank market, the naira eased to N150.22 to the dollar from N149.70, which ended its two-week rally against the dollar. At the parallel market, traders exchanged N154/$1 as against N153/$1 at the beginning of last week.
The monetary authority sold only $150 million at the second of the bi-weekly auction last Wednesday, short of the $214 million demanded.

The CBN was reported to have made the lowest dollar sales in three months, at its auction last Monday. Banks bought the smallest amount of dollars in more than three months as demand from companies declined. CBN reportedly sold $117.1 million at the auction, the least since March 24, after putting $200 million on offer, the smallest available amount since the auction on March 29.

The foreign exchange market, according to the CBN remained relatively stable in the first half this year. During the period – January 1 to June 16, 2010, according to CBN data, total sales at 45 bi-weekly WDAS auctions amounted to $11,155.10 million, equivalent to an average of $247.89 million per auction. In the corresponding period of 2009, the sum of $12,995.48 million was sold at 70 daily and bi-weekly RDAS auctions, equivalent to an average of $185.65 million per auction.

The market regulator further stated that in May 2010, the average foreign exchange demand of $459.26 million per auction was recorded against the average sales of $394.45 million. As at June 23, 2010 average demand for the month dropped to $315.73 million and correspondingly, the average sales also declined, to $297.69 million, representing sales as a percentage of demand of 94.29.The CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, told reporters last week that Nigeria is “comfortable” with current naira levels and believes the currency is unlikely to come under pressure, with foreign reserves capable of funding 16 months of imports.

Other Devts: Intervention fund

The CBN announced last week that N150billion out of the N500 billion intervention fund is ready for drawdown and will be accessed by 150 manufacturers before the end of this month.According to the Governor, the fund is targeted at deficit and strategic sectors of the economy. He however, noted that even though the power sector remains a key target, there have been no requests from that sector to access the fund, owing to the non conclusion of the power sector reforms.”So far, we’ve had about 150 companies that are going to borrow under the manufacturing tranche and that is about N150 billion” Sanusi said.

Microfinance

The apex bank also disclosed last week it was considering the Bangladesh model of microfinance for Nigeria. The CBN, said the Governor, will be sending a team to study the microfinance model in Bangladesh as it looks into the smooth operations of the lower segments of the financial sector.The Governor of the central bank of Bangladesh, Atiur Rahman, said Bangladesh authorities are willing to share their experiences in that sector with Nigeria, stressing that the microfinance sector has helped Bangladesh improve its economy and cope with the global financial crisis.

Rahman disclosed that a different body from the central bank regulates microfinance in that country, adding that commercial banks in Bangladesh extend 40 per cent of their credit to the microfinance banks, who in turn channel the fund for on lending to the small and medium enterprises sector as well as agriculture.

D-8 Central Banks
The D-8 central banks from Nigeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan and Turkey met in Abuja last week and expressed their commitments to collaborate on monetary and fiscal issues in the interest of the economies of member countries.

Sanusi said the meeting was necessitated by the role central banks play in national economies, stressing that it has become crucial to review and adopt common regulatory regimes to safeguard financial systems stability and prevent a repeat of recent experience of the global meltdown.

The Minister of Finance, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, said areas of co-operation by D-8 central banks as drawn up by the secretariat was important especially for trade facilitation, adding that as developing countries : “We owe ourselves the duty to promote trade among ourselves in order to grow our economy at a faster rate than North-South trade will ordinarily afford us.”

The first time the five-year deposit interest rate increases 0.54
banks face earnings pressure
It is worth noting that this at the central bank announced that financial institutions in the five-year benchmark deposit interest rates 0.54 percentage points, and contrast, the five-year benchmark lending rate 0.09 percentage point hike alone. Personal housing accumulation fund the five-year loan rate was only 0.09 percentage points adjusted upwards accordingly.

In this regard, the Central Plains Analysis Securities researcher said, “This is the profitability of the mainland banking sector will constitute the new pressures. Prior to China’s deposit and lending rates increase in the basic, as adjusted and the bank to pay interest on deposits has improved significantly, while the lending interest rate to accelerate the decline in access. This has always been dependent on income spreads most commercial banks, will have a negative impact. “It is understood that this adjustment, the long-term deposit, loan spreads at 2.25, while the original rate of 2.7, reduced 0.45 points to reach 17% decline.

At the same time, Lyon, a researcher at that “interest rate increase the profitability of insurance companies for the mainland to form good, because the current structure of insurance assets ratio of more than 20% for bank deposits. Research data indicate that rising interest rates 0.27 basis points each, life insurance companies and other large stock price is expected to be up 5 percent support. ”

Short-term lending rates higher than long-term
curb excessive speculation
At the same time, the adjustment of short-term Loan interest rates range, significantly higher than long-term. Galaxy Securities analyst Gao Xiaofeng analysis, “the original short-term lending rates relatively low, since the first quarter of this year, subject to hot pursuit, this part of the funds into the stock market. The encounter marked increase, which would lead banks to tighten short-term loans due in order to market liquidity will gradually shrink, but it also requires a process will have obvious market reaction. ”

Foreign exchange transactions to expand the fluctuation range of
to accelerate the appreciation of the yuan will steadily the same day, the central bank also announced that, since 5 21 from the date of the inter-bank spot foreign exchange market, the yuan to float against the U.S. dollar trading price ranged from 3/1000 expanded to 5/1000. The industry that this will push to accelerate the appreciation of the yuan steady.

economists that the “slightly accelerated appreciation of the RMB to the Mainland’s imports and exports in some sectors, such as the negative impact will be increased, but the long term, beneficial to the economy as a whole rose. ”

Long-term loans to small increase in interest rates
mortgage burden of the public do not public concern for real estate loans , high Xiaofeng believes the long-term lending rates had only about one-third of previous rate increases, showing the central bank reluctant to increase the repayment burden on home buyers. Mr. Sun public rough calculations on this account, told reporters that “The interest rate increase after the increase in the monthly mortgage repayment amount to about tens of dollars a year for several hundred dollars more than the calendar year after the rate hike repayment increase significantly less, so the pressure is not, you can afford.”