MF Global Asia Units Move to Limit Fallout

HONG KONG—MF Global Holdings Ltd.'s Asia units began the process of unwinding trades and selling off assets on Wednesday, under pressure from regulators looking to limit fallout in the region from the securities firm's collapse.

Auditor KPMG was named provisional liquidator of MF Global's Hong Kong-based units and provisional liquidator in Singapore. The auditicheap nfl jerseysng firm was also named voluntary administrator for the brokerage in Australia.

"The provisional liquidators are assessing the options for the companies, and are actively seeking to dispose of the business in conjunction with other administrators appointed globally," said Patrick Cowley, principal at KPMG China.

Hong Kong's securities regulator asked MF Global Hong Kong Ltd. late Tuesday to close out or transfer existing futures and options positions in the stock exchange according to client instructions.

Bankers said the remnants of MF Global in Asia may attract interest from financial institutions looking to expand in the region. MF Global's local units still have licenses, people, and a roster of clients that would be valuable to a Chinese or Singaporean bank lwholesale nfl jerseysooking to expand outside their domestic market, said one of the bankers.

Buyers will likely be able to pick up the assets cheaply, but must move quickly before staff and clients desert the failed broker, they said.

A potential buyer is already circling the remnants of MF Global in Japan, a person familiar with the matter said. It is particularly interested in the growing business of serving Japanese retail investors, such as the proverbial Mrs. Watanabe—the collective name of Japanese retail investors who day-trade foreign currencies—the person said.

MF Global's Japan busiCheap NFL Jerseysness, known as MF Global FXA Securities Ltd., had 5,000 operational accounts when the local regulator froze its accounts earlier this week. As of the end of September, the accounts contained about 2.5 billion yen ($32 million), according to Japan's regulator the Financial Services Agency.

The Japanese company, which has been mostly active in the foreign-exchange business, recently began stock-brokerage services.

Still, Taipei-based Polaris MF Global Futures Co., in which MF Global has a 19.5% stake, said its operations and clients' assets aren't affected by the collapse of the U.S. securities firm.

Polaris MF, which trades onshore and offshore futures and options products, said MF Global is one of the company's shareholders and isn't involved in daily operations.

"What is being frozen is MF's stake in us, not the clients' assets," an official from Polaris MF said. http://fifa-bulgaria.8forum.info/t14-topic