News Centre

Accounting: European Commissioner McCreevy Welcomes Work Programme For Convergence Between EU And US standards

Date 27/02/2006

Charlie McCreevy, European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services, has welcomed the publication of a Memorandum of Understanding between the United States Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) that outlines a work programme for convergence between US Generally Accepted Accounting Practices (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). This convergence programme is an important step in bringing about

BOVESPA Carnival Holiday Schedule – 2006

Date 25/02/2006

BOVESPA informs that due to Carnival Holiday on February 27th and 28th, on March 1st (Wednesday) the trading session at BOVESPA will start at 01:00 p.m., as follows: Mega Bolsa - Electronic Trading System - continuous session from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Pre-opening fixing: from 12:45 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Closing call: from 5:55 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Options Exercise Stock Options Exercise: from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Index Options Exercise: from 1 p.m. to 2

Warsaw SE Main Index Set New Closing High

Date 24/02/2006

The Warsaw Stock Exchange WIG, all share index, closed at a new high of 39793,98. The previous closing high was 39351,63 on January 25, 2006.

Tokyo Stock Exchange Number Of Orders And Executions

Date 24/02/2006

Date Time

Tokyo Financial Exchange Trading Of Interest Rate Etc. Financial Futures Contracts Starts 15 Minutes Earlier On 3 March 2006

Date 24/02/2006

TFX announced the temporary change of trading hours for all Interest Rate etc. Financial Futures Contracts (except for Exchange Forex Margin Contracts) on 3 March 2006, responding to the release of the Consumer Price Index at 8:30am.

Thai Bourse Closes the Case On Seamico’s Rule Violations

Date 24/02/2006

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) has ruled that Seamico Securities Co. Ltd. (ZMICO) has violated the SET’s “Announcement of Rules and Procedures for Collecting Brokerage or Agent Fees and on Good Corporate Governance of Members B.E. 2547”.

Standard & Poor’s Announces Changes In S&P Japan SmallCap 250 And S&P Japan 500 Indices

Date 24/02/2006

Standard & Poor’s will make the following changes in the S&P Japan SmallCap 250 and S&P Japan 500 indices effective after the close of trading Thursday, March 9th 2006: 1. Deletions and additions Kyorin Co Ltd (Japan, SEDOL: B0YZFP0, GICS: Health Care, GICS Code: 35202010) will be added to the S&P Japan SmallCap250 and the S&P Japan 500, replacing Kyorin Pharmaceuticals Co Ltd (Japan, SEDOL: 6149996, GICS: Health Care, GICS Code: 35202010) due to its acquisition by Kyorin Co Ltd.

President Of Thai Bourse Awarded ‘Financier Of The Year 2005’

Date 24/02/2006

President of The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), Mr. Kittiratt Na-Ranong, becomes the first person from the Thai capital market to receive the Financier of the Year Award.

Orkla ASA GICS Change S&P Europe 350 And S&P Euro Plus

Date 24/02/2006

Standard & Poor’s will revise the GICS sector classification for the S&P Europe 350 and S&P Euro Plus index constituent listed below: Company Name

Opening Remarks By Mr Ng Nam Sin, Executive Director, Monetary Authority Of Singapore At The IQPC Islamic Finance Singapore 2006

Date 24/02/2006

1. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.  2. Let me begin by thanking the organizers for inviting me here today.   Singapore's foray into Islamic finance is relatively new.  I will like therefore to take the opportunity to focus my remarks on how Singapore, a major financial centre in Asia, views the development of Islamic finance, how we are responding to the growing interest and what we are doing to facilitate its development in Singapore. G