SINGAPORE, Nov 25 (Reuters) – Goldman Sachs -backed Tora, a dark pool operator in Japan, plans to expand into Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia next year, its chief operating officer said.

U.S.-based Tora launched its Crosspoint dark pool service in Japan in February 2010 and says it provides traders with access to more than 5 percent of the orders passing through the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

“Expansion of Tora Crosspoint in Hong Kong is something we are actively pursuing… At this stage, we are looking towards a launch in early 2011,” Chief Operating Officer Ian Lombard said in an email interview.

Dark pools, so named because they represent large pools of buy and sell stock orders not visible to regular investors, are relatively new to Asia but they operate quite freely in developed countries where they account for billions of dollars in daily trades.

In Asia, where stock exchanges are often seen as national assets, regulators are likely to curb activities of dark pool operators to protect incumbents as well as ensure markets remain wholly transparent.

Tora has obtained a broker-dealer license to provide automated trading services in Hong Kong, which will allow it to match orders for shares listed in the Chinese territory before reporting the deals to Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing .

Tora plans to expand into Singapore and Australia next year, Lombard said. The move will pit Tora against the incumbent exchanges as well as newcomers such as Chi-East, a dark pool joint venture between Singapore Exchange and Nomura’s Chi-X.

SINGAPORE, Nov 11 (Reuters) – Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings [TEM.UL] said it will raise its stake in China Construction Bank (0939.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) by taking up Bank of America’s (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) entire entitlement in the rights issue of China’s No. 2 lender.

CCB (601939.SS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) plans to raise up to 61.6 billion yuan ($9.3 billion) this month in Asia’s biggest rights issue outside Japan to shore up capital after an industry-wide lending binge in 2009.

BofA, CCB’s second-largest shareholder with just under 11 percent, has been looking for a buyer for its rights entitlement, sources have previously said.

“People would prefer Bank of America to sell the rights to Temasek because they’re an existing shareholder, and they’ve demonstrated that they will probably hold this stake for a longer term,” said Ivan Li, an analyst at Kim Eng Securities in Hong Kong.

BofA may be looking to protect its capital adequacy ratios (CAR) ahead of tougher new international banking regulations coming into force with the so-called Basel III agreement, Li said.

“Maybe the politics also played a part, since Bank of America took money from the U.S. government, so to subscribe to the rights issue of a Chinese bank may not be a good idea.”

By taking over BofA’s rights, Temasek, which already owns about 6 percent of CCB, will have to invest an additional $1.5 billion to $1.6 billion in the Chinese lender. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

SINGAPORE, Nov 11 (Reuters) – Singapore Telecommunications (STEL.SI: Quote, Profile, Research), Southeast Asia’s largest telecommunications firm, posted a lower-than-expected quarterly profit, as acqusition costs by Indian affiliate Bharti weighed, but cheered investors by raising dividends.

SingTel, 55 percent owned by Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings [TEM.UL], said earnings were hit by costs from Bharti Airtel’s (BRTI.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) acquisition of the African telecom assets of Kuwaiti group Zain (ZAIN.KW: Quote, Profile, Research) in June and investments in multimedia services in Singapore.

Still, SingTel’s shares rose 1.9 percent, reversing early falls and outpacing a 0.3 percent gain in Singapore’s main index .FTSTI, as investors focused on an increase in dividends.

The company also it would raise its dividend payout ratio to 55-70 percent of underlying net profit from 45-60 percent.

“They missed estimates due to Singapore and Bharti numbers. But the key thing, which is positive, was the change in policy to raise the dividend payout,” said DBS Vickers analyst Sachin Mittal.

“This is still better than special dividends, because this is a sustainable hike in dividend going forward, so that’s a key positive from this result,” he added.

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SINGAPORE (Reuters) – World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Wednesday he was not advocating a return to a gold standard for exchange rates, but described the metal as “the elephant in the room” that policymakers needed to acknowledge.

Zoellick, who was attending an infrastructure conference organized by the World Bank and the Singapore government, said it was important for nations to look beyond exchange rates and focus on economic fundamentals.

“I don’t believe you can return to a fixed exchange rate system and that is the gold standard,” he later told the Foreign Correspondents Association.”

“Markets are already using gold as an alternative monetary asset because confidence is low…it is saying we have a problem that needs to be fixed.”

Gold prices have soared to record levels in recent weeks and are currently around $1,400 per ounce.

“There is an elephant in the room and that is what I want people to recognize,” Zoellick said.

Zoellick earlier this week surprised financial markets by suggesting the world’s largest nations consider gold as an indicator to help set foreign exchange rates, amid concerns governments and central banks may try to kickstart their economies by devaluing their currencies.

SINGAPORE, Oct 18 (Reuters) – Singapore Exchange (SGX), Asia’s second-largest listed bourse, looks set to bounce from its lowest profit in three quarters as Asian markets soar and it prepares to launch trading in ADRs of Chinese firms this week.

SGX (SGXL.SI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and rivals such as Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) (0388.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Bursa Malaysia (BMYS.KL: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) have seen their share prices and trading volumes surge in recent weeks as global investors allocate more funds to Asia.

Many analysts are also upbeat on SGX’s prospects due to an expected rise in volumes from new financial products, in particular American Depositary Receipts of Chinese firms such as Internet leader Baidu (BIDU.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) that start trading on Oct 22. [ID:nSGE68D079]

“Hong Kong has a natural advantage with China as its backyard, but SGX has shown that it has been very innovative in offering new products and looking for ways to grow beyond what the natural environment gives it,” said Kenneth Ng, head of research at CIMB in Singapore.

“The outlook for SGX is exciting because there are many initiatives up ahead like the ADRs,” he added. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

StarMine comparative table: link.reuters.com/puc88p

FACTBOX on Asia bourses upgrading systems: [ID:nSGE67G0AC]

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore’s rags-to-riches billionaire Peter Lim bid 320 million pounds ($509.1 million) on Tuesday to buy Liverpool Football Club, a revised offer that tops rival bidder New England Sports Ventures (NESV).

The reclusive Lim, the Southeast Asian city-state’s eighth richest man with a fortune estimated at $1.6 billion by Forbes magazine, said he will also make a further 40 million pounds available for manager Roy Hodgson to purchase new players.

Lim said in a statement that his cash offer, funded solely by his own wealth, would cover the club’s debts estimated at 237 million pounds.

The rest would meet bank interest and 40 million pounds for working capital and other liabilities.

“My offer provides a firm financial platform from which the club can rebuild. Given the manner in which the sale process has been handled, I feel (Liverpool chairman) Martin (Broughton) and the board owe it to me, to the club, and to the supporters, to consider my offer,” Lim said.

The offer, revised after an earlier bid of 300 million pounds, has been lodged with Broughton. It comes amid a battle in London’s High Court to decide whether the club’s much-hated American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett can block the club’s sale to NESV.

Liverpool’s independent directors led by chairman Broughton had earlier agreed to sell the club to NESV, the owners of the Boston Red Sox baseball team, in a deal valued at 300 million pounds.

SINGAPORE, Oct 12 (Reuters) – Singapore’s rags-to-riches billionaire Peter Lim bid 320 million pounds ($509.1 million) on Tuesday to buy Liverpool Football Club, a revised offer that tops rival bidder New England Sports Ventures (NESV).

The reclusive Lim, the Southeast Asian city-state’s eighth richest man with a fortune estimated at $1.6 billion by Forbes magazine, said he will also make a further 40 million pounds available for manager Roy Hodgson to purchase new players.

Lim said in a statement that his cash offer, funded solely by his own wealth, would cover the club’s debts estimated at 237 million pounds.

The rest would meet bank interest and 40 million pounds for working capital and other liabilities.

“My offer provides a firm financial platform from which the club can rebuild. Given the manner in which the sale process has been handled, I feel (Liverpool chairman) Martin (Broughton) and the board owe it to me, to the club, and to the supporters, to consider my offer,” Lim said.

The offer, revised after an earlier bid of 300 million pounds, has been lodged with Broughton. It comes amid a battle in London’s High Court to decide whether the club’s much-hated American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett can block the club’s sale to NESV. [ID:nSGE69B09N]

Liverpool’s independent directors led by chairman Broughton had earlier agreed to sell the club to NESV, the owners of the Boston Red Sox baseball team, in a deal valued at 300 million pounds.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore billionaire Peter Lim, who plans to make an improved bid for Liverpool, is a shrewd investor and soccer fan whose name is more often associated with Manchester United, the Merseyside club’s biggest rival.

Lim, 57, ranked as the eighth-richest Singaporean with an estimated wealth of $1.6 billion (1 billion pounds) by Forbes, has exclusive rights to own and operate a chain of Manchester United-themed restaurants and bars in Asia.

Singapore-listed fashion retailer FJ Benjamin, in which Lim is the second-largest shareholder, previously operated the Manchester United Theatre of Dreams stores in the city-state.

Lim, the son of a fishmonger, made his fortune as a stock broker and became a private investor in 1996. He keeps a relatively low profile and rarely gives media interviews.

His key holdings include stakes in Wilmar International, the world’s largest palm oil firm, and regional education provider Informatics, which he turned around after the firm had fallen on hard times.

Earlier this month he invested about $100 million in Global Logistic Properties, a giant provider of warehouse facilities in China and Japan that is majority owned by Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC.

People who know Lim said his interest in Liverpool stemmed from his love of soccer, and he recently donated S$10 million ($7.65 million) to the Singapore Olympics Foundation for scholarships for promising young athletes from poor families.

SINGAPORE, Oct 12 (Reuters) – Singapore billionaire Peter Lim, who plans to make an improved bid for Liverpool, is a shrewd investor and soccer fan whose name is more often associated with Manchester United, the Merseyside club’s biggest rival.

Lim, 57, ranked as the eighth-richest Singaporean with an estimated wealth of $1.6 billion by Forbes, has exclusive rights to own and operate a chain of Manchester United-themed restaurants and bars in Asia.

Singapore-listed fashion retailer FJ Benjamin (FJBN.SI: Quote, Profile, Research), in which Lim is the second-largest shareholder, previously operated the Manchester United Theatre of Dreams stores in the city-state.

Lim, the son of a fishmonger, made his fortune as a stock broker and became a private investor in 1996. He keeps a relatively low profile and rarely gives media interviews.

His key holdings include stakes in Wilmar International (WLIL.SI: Quote, Profile, Research), the world’s largest palm oil firm, and regional education provider Informatics (INFO.SI: Quote, Profile, Research), which he turned around after the firm had fallen on hard times.

Earlier this month he invested about $100 million in Global Logistic Properties, a giant provider of warehouse facilities in China and Japan that is majority owned by Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC.

People who know Lim said his interest in Liverpool stemmed from his love of soccer, and he recently donated S$10 million ($7.65 million) to the Singapore Olympics Foundation for scholarships for promising young athletes from poor families.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Platinum offers a better long-term bet than gold as rising auto production boosts demand for the white metal, while art is also a good bet for investors worried about growing money supply, Castlestone Management says.

Platinum prices have risen 16 percent since the start of the year to just under $1,700 per troy ounce, while gold hit a record high of $1,364.6 on Thursday and is up some 22 percent year-to-date as investors seek the safety of precious metals amid moves by central banks to pump cash into the system to spur economic growth.

“In an economic environment where growth remains 1-2 percent per annum and there are no major economic problems… platinum will be the better-performing metal,” Castlestone founder Angus Murray told Reuters in an interview.

About half of all platinum produced today is used in catalytic converters, which reduce air pollution by cars.

“If you assume that you are going to get continued industrialization in China and you add in Brazil, then you are clearly going to get significant increases in demand for cars,” he said.

The platinum that went into these catalytic converters could not be easily retrieved unlike the gold in jewellery, which has a 99 percent recovery rate, he added.

Castlestone was founded in December 1996 as a family office by Murray, a former president of Australian bank Macquarie’s (MQG.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) U.S. operations. Besides advising wealthy clients, the firm also manages about $360 million (227 million pounds) in alternative investments.