Global fiscal restructuring to impact Asians

Asian investors were alerted on the potential impact of restructuring efforts by financial institutions worldwide.

Although Asia's exposure to the ongoing global financial crisis is limited, Securities and Futures Commission's (SFC) Chief Executive Officer Mr Martin Wheatley said that the severity of the financial crisis has prompted the International Monetary Fund to predict banks and financial institutions worldwide would probably have to write down US$4.1 trillion worth of assets to restore stability.

"This crisis is unprecedented in its global reach. No economy is sheltered from the effects of the crisis," Mr Wheatley said. "The ongoing de-leveraging in the global banking sector will inevitably have an effect on Hong Kong--both on overall sentiment and more explicitly, on holders of structured products," he added.

In light of this, the SFC has already told issuers of structured products to make appropriate information available through distributors. Investors who have any doubts about what the impact of overseas corporate failures might be on their investments should contact the product distributors for further information, he said.