One of the worst months on record for global stock markets saw Asian equities fall steeply in October, led by India and China. Even the approval of the US Treasury's US$700bn rescue plan and a raft of coordinated government measures failed to stop the rout. Indonesia suspended equity trading temporarily, while Australia, Korea, and Taiwan banned short selling. Companies used excess cash for share buybacks, among them were Hong Kong's Swire Pacific and CLP Holdings.China's GDP growth decelerated to its slowest in five years, leading to sweeping policy changes to lift the property sector, as well as interest rate cuts that were followed in India, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea. Singapore fell into recession, prompting it to reverse the policy of currency appreciation. In Thailand, a bomb exploded at an anti-government rally.Malaysian deputy prime minister Najib Razak won the Umno party presidency uncontested, enabling him to become prime minister next March. In October, we added to several holdings on price weakness, such as Rio Tinto, Standard Chartered, City Developments and Singapore Telecom.
279.02p
