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Hong Kong fines Hang Seng Bank unit; Nippon Life buys stake in MassMutual Japan

GREATER CHINA

* Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission fined Hang Seng Bank Ltd.'s investment arm, Hang Seng Investment Management, HK$3 million for failing to meet regulatory requirements on the management of cash within its funds, the city's South China Morning Post reported. The SFC said the company paid interest that was lower than the prevailing commercial rate on some of its funds, resulting in lost interest to investors of about HK$875,648.

* China's AGM Group Holdings Inc. agreed to acquire a 75% stake in SIFT Capital Partners Ltd. and a 100% stake in AGM Global Asset Management Ltd. for HK$6 million and US$22,635, respectively, according to a Form 6-K filing.

* The China Banking & Insurance Regulatory Commission said 12 insurance companies were granted qualifications to operate tax-deferred pension insurance business, China's Caijing reported.

JAPAN AND KOREA

* Nomura Holdings Inc. is in the process of applying for a security joint venture in Shanghai, in which it will hold a controlling stake, China Daily reported. If approved, Nomura would be one of the first foreign companies to hold a majority stake in a Chinese venture after the government promised to further open up the country's financial sector to foreign players.

* Japan's Nippon Life Insurance Co. completed its acquisition of an 85.1% stake in MassMutual Life Insurance Co. Ltd., or MassMutual Japan, from Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. unit MassMutual International LLC. Following the transaction, MassMutual Japan became an affiliate of Nippon Life. It will be rebranded as Nippon Wealth Life Insurance Co. Ltd., effective Jan. 1, 2019.

* Mizuho Financial Group Inc. affiliate Asset Management One Co. Ltd. will acquire a 100% stake in the group's investment advisory company in the second half of fiscal 2018, Tokyo's The Nikkei reported. The company offers overseas alternative investment products to Japanese investors.

* Japan's Shizuoka Shinkin Bank and Yaizu Shinkin Bank will name their merged entity Shizuoka Yaizu Shinkin, The Nikkei reported. The two regional banks plan to merge July 16, 2019.

* South Korea's Shinhan Financial Group Co. Ltd. dropped its plan to acquire a majority stake in ING Life Insurance Korea Ltd. due to differences over acquisition terms and price, Maeil Business News Korea's Pulse reported, citing sources.

* Woori Bank customers experienced system errors on the South Korean bank's online and mobile banking services, as well as on related credit card transactions, on May 31 due to traffic overload in its system, Yonhap News Agency reported. The incident lasted for about an hour and comes after the bank updated its entire web-based system.

ASEAN

* The Bank of Thailand permitted six private companies in Thailand to conduct foreign exchange transactions with commercial banks without documentation in a bid to improve convenience and cut costs, the country's Daily News reported. The qualified companies are Thai Airways International PCL, NMB-Minebea Thai Ltd., Covestro (Thailand) Co. Ltd., LG Electronics (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Star Petroleum Refining PCL and Mitr Phol Treasury Center Co. Ltd.

* Krungsri Finnovate Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Thailand's Bank of Ayudhya PCL, plans to invest 500 million baht in four startups focusing on big data, lending, cyber security and payment systems, as part of efforts to improve the efficiency of bank's product and service development, Thailand's Manager Daily reported. The company has so far invested in three startups focusing on robo-advisors, payment solutions and data analytics.

* Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd. reported a net profit attributable to equity holders of 112.9 million ringgit for the fourth quarter ended March 31, compared to 117.4 million ringgit in the prior-year period. The bank's fiscal year net profit declined to 493.2 million ringgit from 512.1 million ringgit.

* Malaysia's AFFIN Bank Bhd. reported a net profit attributable to equity holders of 141.5 million ringgit for the first quarter ended March 31, compared to 90.2 million ringgit in the prior-year quarter.

* Vietnam Prosperity JSCB obtained approval from the country's central bank to increase its charter capital to 25.2 trillion dong from 15.7 trillion dong, Viet Nam News reported.

* PT Bank MNC Internasional Tbk appointed Ageng Purwanto as CEO to replace Benny Purnomo who resigned, Bisnis Indonesia reported. The bank also approved a rights issue plan worth 500 billion Indonesian rupiah to add capital.

SOUTH ASIA

* U.S.-based private equity firm Warburg Pincus LLC bought a 26% stake in IndiaFirst Life Insurance Co. Ltd. owned by Legal & General Group PLC, The Economic Times in India reported, citing two people aware of the development. IndiaFirst Life Insurance is likely to announce the deal June 1, the publication added.

* India's Religare Enterprises Ltd.'s stand-alone net loss for the fourth quarter ended March 31 widened year over year to 643.3 million rupees from 505.9 million rupees.

* The Reserve Bank of India banned Dena Bank from issuing new loans to corporate clients due to a deterioration in its financial performance, The Indian Express reported, citing sources in the finance ministry. The central bank also told Allahabad Bank to restrict expansion of risk weighted assets and to reduce its exposure to unrated and high risk loans.

* Bangladesh banks are urging the central bank to inject more U.S. dollars into the market to address a shortage in the currency due to higher import bills, The Daily Star in the country reported.

AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

* Westpac New Zealand Ltd. will open a new branch and office in Christchurch, New Zealand, in what CEO David McLean said is a homecoming for those who had been displaced by the February 2011 earthquake, Insurance Business reported. The new office will open June 5.

* Australia-based Suncorp Group Ltd. acknowledged that it has not yet completed a review of its standard small business contracts to ensure that it complies with new laws passed two and a half years ago, The Guardian and the Australian Associated Press reported. The company also failed to communicate to its small business customers that their contracts may be subject to the new laws and that their contracts may contain potentially noncompliant terms.

* The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority nominated John Lonsdale, deputy secretary, as additional deputy chair at the regulator for a five-year term, Insurance Business reported. The regulator also reappointed Helen Rowell as deputy chair, effective July 1.

IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Middle East & Africa: Mizrahi-Union Bank merger blocked; NCB has new CEO; Allianz buys Africa Re stake

Europe: Deutsche Bank commits to US amid cuts; Italy crisis may delay RBS stake sale

Latin America: Brazil fund completes Banco do Brasil stake sale; BancoEstado names CFO

North America: Judge OKs Wells' suit settlement; Citizens buying mortgage assets for $511M

North America Insurance: Icahn rips AmTrust; Virginia to expand Medicaid; Berkshire eyed Uber investment

Janna Estares, Sally Wang, Sarun Saelee, Cathy Hwang, Emi White and Aditya Suharmoko contributed to this report.

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