The Weekly News Update is a weekly roundup of business news from around the Asia-Pacific region, covering Fusion Consulting's core industry practices: chemicals, consumer & retail, financial services, industrial & logistics, information & communication technology, life science and media & leisure. If you have colleagues or friends who may be interested in subscribing, please forward this email to them and copy knowledge@fusionc.com.       Merging with the Mainland: China's M&A opportunities   M&A activity in China continues to surge, thanks to strong economic growth and  private equity activity. With regulatory changes in 2006, several sectors should see  further M&A action in 2007 and beyond. Find out where the opportunities lie.

Financial services

China - HSBC offers private banking in the mainland  Source: Reuters, 1 April 2008 HSBC Holdings has launched its private banking services in China as foreign banks target the country's fast-growing market for services to wealthy clients. HSBC forecasts that by 2011 there would be 16 million high net-worth individuals in China with US$6.2 trillion in total assets. HSBC rivals Citibank and Standard Chartered have already started private banking businesses in China, while Bank of East Asia plans to launch such services in the second quarter of 2008. Local banks, including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Bank of Communications, have also joined the competition to offer services for wealthy Chinese clients. Hong Kong - Over 400,000 millionaires in 2007 Source: China Daily, 28 March 2008 A survey commissioned by Citibank projected there were 414,000 millionaires at the end of 2007 in Hong Kong, and the majority of them owe their upgrade in financial status to the booming stock market. The survey shows the number of people with liquid assets worth more than HK$1 million (US$128,500) increased to 414,000, much higher than 276,000 in 2006. Each of these millionaires owns on average HK$9.9 million (US$1.3 million) in assets. The majority of millionaires are locals (81%) and 15% are mainland migrants. Wanchai remains the district where the most millionaires can be found (16.9%). Central & Western district comes second (16.3%) and Eastern district comes third (15.4%). Singapore - Amex trains sights on young affluent Source: Business Times Singapore, 2 April 2008 The young affluent consumers - people in their late 20s to 30s with a median income of more than S$75,000 (US$54,000) a year - currently spend about S$3.5 billion (US$2.5 billion) on credit cards per year, accounting for over 20% of total consumer card spending in Singapore. American Express (Amex) expects their credit card spending will grow 20% a year to S$5 billion (US$3.6 billion) by 2010. The young affluents account for a quarter of Amex's cardholders in Singapore. The company plans to rapidly increase its penetration in this target segment, and is investing 'significantly' to enhance the value proposition of its Platinum Credit Card.     View an example of our experience in this industry. Back to list of articles.  Visit our website to sign up for free intelligence on Asian markets.

This Weekly News Update is a free newsletter, providing a round-up of the week's Asia-Pacific news from our core industry practices. If you have colleagues or friends who may be interested in subscribing, please forward this email to them and copy knowledge@fusionc.com.

Fusion Consulting is a business intelligence consultancy providing clear strategic advice on Asia-Pacific markets. With offices in Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong and 400 industry consultants in 16 countries, we conduct custom research and consulting to help companies understand their markets, compete more effectively and grow into new areas of opportunity. Email more@fusionc.com or visit www.fusionc.com for more information.