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

Asia - Private banking industry booming Source: Business Times Singapore, 17 March 2008 Asia's private banking industry is booming. According to Boston Consulting Group (BCG), wealth managers in Asia reported a median pre-tax margin of 45.5% in 2006, beating the overall global profitability of 34.7%. The industry is expected to grow 20-30% a year, in line with the rising number of high-net worth individuals and greater awareness that will shift cash sitting in retail banks to private banking accounts. Much of the wealth generated is coming from China and India, which accounted for over 64% of the wealth in Asia Pacific. BCG estimates that Asia Pacific ex-Japan has some US$10.6 trillion in asset under management, behind Japan's US$11.9 trillion, Europe's US$33 trillion and North America's US$36.2 trillion. China - Limits on rural banks to ease Source: Reuters, 14 March 2008 China plans to relax a series of restrictions on its rural banks in 2008. The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) plans to relax limits on equity stakes that individuals and non-financial firms can hold in small and medium-sized rural financial institutions. CBRC also plans to relax geographical restrictions, allowing some rural banks to do business across regions. Rural commercial lenders are currently limited to operating in a single province. Beijing is looking to stimulate investment in the countryside to reduce a growing income gap with the cities, and is encouraging the development of rural lenders, many of which were cobbled together from the country's beleaguered rural credit cooperatives starting in 2001. Thailand - Thais using more plastic Source: Thai News Service, 14 March 2008 The number of credit cards in use in Thailand as of the end of January 2008 surged by 995,763. The Bank of Thailand reported the latest tally of credit cards as of the end of January totalled 11,998,570, up 9.1% from the same period the year before. Of this, 4,668,072 cards were issued by local commercial banks; 1,301,989 by foreign bank branches; and 6,028,768 by non-banking institutions. Spending through credit cards as of the end of January 2008 totalled Bt83.2 billion (US$2.6 billion), up 12.2% from the same period the year before. Of this, Bt60.6 billion (US$1.9 billion) was spent locally and Bt2.7 billion (US$86 million) was used abroad.     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.