China bullish on India

At a time when European banks and financial services firms are shutting shops or scaling back their operations, Chinese firms are beginning to enter India. Recently, Shanghai-based Haitong Securities, valued at $21 billion, set foot into India by acquiring Espírito Santo's domestic business. Haitong currently has operations only in the investment banking space but soon plans to expand into the institutional trading business. Another major Chinese investment bank operating in India is Citic Securities.

MF houses' exposure under scanner

Mutual fund houses are after a long time getting steady inflows. But at the same time, they are coming under scanner for having excessive exposure to certain stocks or companies. For example, a fund house's exposure of 27 per cent to a steel company's commercial papers is worrying market players. The Securities and Exchange Board of India guidelines say equity funds can hold up to 10 per cent and debt funds up to 15 per cent in a particular company. If there is a passive breaching due to redemptions, then the fund house gets a month to cut back exposure. The market is waiting for corrective action from the fund house lest the market regular puts in tougher guidelines.

Sebi's hiring plan hits a roadblock

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi)'s plan to hire staff from external agencies, including the income tax department and the Reserve Bank of India, has taken a hit due to opposition from its recently formed employee association. The association has asked Sebi to opt for external hiring only if there are no alternatives available within the organisation. An email query to Sebi remained unanswered.