Taiwan's public banks to hike rates; Pakistani banks to privatize power company

TOP NEWS IN BANKING & FINANCIAL SERVICES

* Some Taiwanese lenders said they would raise interest rates on savings, deposits and loans after Taiwan's central bank hiked policy rates by 25 basis points, the Taipei Times reported, citing officials from the banks. Bank of Taiwan did not comment on how the rate hike would affect syndicated loans, land financing, corporate lending and mortgage operations, the publication noted.

* A syndicate of conventional and Islamic banks in Pakistan including Habib Bank Ltd., National Bank of Pakistan and The Bank of Punjab placed the winning bid for the privatization of state-owned power producer National Power Parks Management Co. (Pvt.) Ltd., Pakistan Today reported. The winning group agreed to provide financing of more than 100 billion rupees as part of the transaction.

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READ MORE about the market reaction and industry impact of the evolving situation in Russia and Ukraine in our new Issue in Focus.

BANKING

* Morgan Stanley China obtained approval from Chinese regulators to access the country's interbank bond market, according to the People's Bank of China.

* South Korea's Suhyup Bank and Korea Trust Co. Ltd. signed a business partnership agreement to collaborate on real estate financing, Yonhap News Agency reported.

* JB Financial Group Co. Ltd.'s The Jeonbuk Bank Ltd. unit eased conditions for its key loan products for foreign customers as banks in South Korea move to diversify revenue sources by lending more to foreigners, The Korea Herald reported.

* PT Bank Neo Commerce Tbk will issue 5 billion new shares with a nominal value of 100 Indonesian rupiah per share, in a limited public offering or rights issue scheduled for May, Bisnis Indonesia reported.

* India's Punjab National Bank said its directors would consider at a March 29 meeting the proposal to raise capital through the issuance of Basel III-compliant additional Tier 1 and 2 bonds for financial year 2022-2023.

* Gautam Chari was promoted to head of capital commitment for the Asia-Pacific region at Bank of America NA - Australian Branch, from managing director, The Australian Financial Review's Street Talk blog reported, citing unnamed sources.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

* South Korean asset manager KTB Network Co. Ltd. renamed itself Daol Investment Co. Ltd. The name change took effect with shareholder approval March 21.

* PT Wahana Ottomitra Multiartha Tbk intends to issue 800 billion Indonesian rupiah of bonds to build working capital, Bisnis Indonesia reported.

* IIFL Finance Ltd.'s board approved the planned repurchase of up to US$50 million of notes listed on the Singapore stock exchange. The targeted notes are part of the India-based company's US$1 billion medium-term note program, according to a filing.

* Sinhaputhra Finance PLC formally merged with Commercial Leasing & Finance PLC, according to a filing. The scheme preludes the proposed amalgamation of Commercial Leasing & Finance with LOLC Finance PLC, with the latter being the surviving entity.

* India-based REC Ltd.'s board approved the company's plan to borrow 850 billion rupees for fiscal year 2022-2023. In a filing, the company said 750 billion rupees of the funds will be secured via domestic bonds and other loans, while the remaining 100 billion rupees will be sourced from short-term loans and commercial papers.

* Dye & Durham Ltd. CEO Matthew Proud said the firm remains committed to its takeover of Link Administration Holdings Ltd. even after talks to sell the Australian financial services group's banking and credit management business hit a snag, The Australian reported. Toronto-based Dye & Durham had been in discussions to divest the business to Dublin-based LC Financial Holdings Ltd., which did not lead to an agreement, the publication added.

POLICY AND REGULATION

* Thailand's central bank said retail finance service provider AEON Thana Sinsap (Thailand) PCL breached market conduct rules after it provided customers' data to a third party without consent from its customers. The regulator said in a release it ordered the company to improve its operation and encouraged the public to file complaints if they are being treated unfairly.

* The Australian Securities and Investments Commission explained in an information sheet how regulations on financial products and services apply to social media influencers and to the licensees that employ them. Under the rules, influencers who provide financial advice or arrange financial deals without a license may face up to five years in jail, the corporate regulator noted.

INDUSTRY NEWS

* China's one-year loan prime rate, a market-based benchmark lending rate, came in at 3.7% on March 21, unchanged from the previous month. The five-year loan prime rate also remained unchanged at 4.6%, beating market expectations, central bank data showed.

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As of March 21, US$1 was equivalent to 76.21 Indian rupees, 14,325 Indonesian rupiah and 180.97 Pakistani rupees.

R Sio, Kanas Chan, Jonathan Cheah, James Lim and Santibhap Ussavasodhi contributed to this report.

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