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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 &
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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. |
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Indonesia - UOB
plans holding firm for Jakarta banks
Source:
Business Times Singapore, 5 January 2008
United Overseas Bank (UOB), Singapore's second-largest
bank by assets, plans to create a holding company for its two
Indonesian lenders by 2010 to meet ownership rules. The holding
company will help UOB meet a regulation restricting control of more
than one financial services company in Indonesia. UOB owns 61% of
Bank UOB Buana and also has its own Indonesian branch called PT Bank
UOB Indonesia.
UOB and other investors including Singapore's Temasek
Holdings and Malaysia's Khazanah Nasional must sell their holdings
in Indonesian banks, merge them or put them under a holding company,
according to central bank
regulations.
Korea - Credit card
spending hits record high in 2007
Source: The
Korea Times, 4 January 2008
Credit card spending in Korea hit a record high in 2007,
pointing to signs of a recovery in private consumption. Spending via
credit cards amounted to W254.8 trillion (US$271 billion) in 2007,
up 15% from a year earlier. The figure is the highest since 2003
when the data was first tallied. Yearly card bills have been on the
upward trend since 2003 when spending reached W162 trillion (US$172
billion).
An
economist at LG Economic Research Institute said the "US subprime
mortgage turmoil seemed to have little impact on private consumption
in the country." Monthly card spending also set records last year
with the December bills amounting to W24.9 trillion (US$26
billion).
Vietnam - Hike in foreign
ownership cap in bank proposed
Source: Nhan Dan,
5 January 2008
Vietnam Association for Financial Investors has
recommended raising the foreign holding in banks from the current
30% to 35-37% to mobilise more capital for the securities market and
the commercial banking system and make the stock market more
attractive to foreign investment in terms of
commodities.
In
April 2007, Vietnam raised the cap for shares held by strategic
foreign investors in local joint stock banks to 15% from previous
10%, leaving it open for the prime minister to raise the limit to
20% on a case-by-case basis. However, Vietnam maintains the total
foreign ownership ceiling at 30%, while the maximum stake a
non-strategic foreign investor can hold remains at 5% for an
individual investor and 10% for a foreign
bank.
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This Weekly News Update is a free newsletter,
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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
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