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

Korea - Hana seeks Merrill shares from Temasek Source: Chosun, 18 February 2008 Korea's Hana Financial Group may buy US$50 million worth of shares in Merrill Lynch from Singapore's Temasek Holdings, in a move which would raise Hana's global profile. Hana bought a majority stake in Indonesia's PT Bintang Manunggal and a small-sized bank in Los Angeles, and has been seeking a stake in Chinese commercial lenders. Korean banks expect the subprime meltdown would provide an opportunity to buy a stake in US financial services firms at cheap prices, which will fit into their global expansion ambitions. In January 2008, the Korea Investment Corporation decided to buy a US$2 billion stake in Merrill Lynch. Malaysia - Tune Money launches prepaid Visa cards for minors Source: Business Times Malaysia, 18 February 2008 Tune Money Sdn. Bhd., a financial services portal, has introduced the Red Card, the only prepaid Visa card in Malaysia targeted at people from ages 12 to 17. The prepaid card provides an alternative to carrying cash. Currently, supplementary credit cards are only for those who are 18 years and above. The Red Card is aimed at parents who want a safe and convenient way to give their children pocket money while monitoring their spending. As each card has a portal account, the parent only needs to log in to see what their children are spending their money on. This gives them some measure of control and allows them to monitor their children's transactions. Thailand - Credit card and consumer loans grow at slower pace Source: Thai News Service, 15 February 2008 Credit card and consumer loans increased at a slower pace by the end of 2007 due to the economic slowdown and a lack of confidence in spending by cardholders. According to the Bank of Thailand, overall number of credit cards totaled 12,003,369 as of the end of December 2007, up 145,158 from the end of the previous quarter. Outstanding loans totaled Bt179.3 billion (US$5.7 billion), up Bt5.4 billion (US$170 million). Spending by credit card as of the end of December 2007 totaled Bt79.8 billion (US$2.5 billion), up Bt4.4 billion (US$139 million) from the end of the third quarter last year. Of this, Bt58.5 billion (US$1.8 billion) came from local spending and Bt2.4 billion (US$76 million) from overseas spending.     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.