GREATER CHINA
* The central committee of China's Communist Party "very likely" discussed an overhaul of the country's financial regulatory system, including a merger of the banking and insurance regulators, the South China Morning Post reported, citing "sources with knowledge of the matter." A source said the merged watchdog, along with the central bank and the securities regulator, would report to the newly formed Financial Stability and Development Committee if the initiative pushes through. This follows a Chinese-language communique by Xinhua News Agency after the talks.
* China is looking to expand its clampdown on financial risk to money-market funds by limiting the amount investors can redeem in a day at 10,000 yuan, Bloomberg News reported, citing "people familiar with the matter." The move will also apply when investors use their assets in money-market funds directly for payment and consumption, the sources noted.
* China Development Bank entered into a US$100 million seven-year loan agreement with pan-African banking group United Bank for Africa Plc to finance the development of small and medium-sized enterprises in Africa, Nigeria's The Guardian reported. The facility will strengthen UBA's capacity to grant small businesses access to finance across the 19 African countries where it operates, the report said,
* Hong Kong's stock exchange ranked third globally in IPOs in 2017, with a record-high 174 companies listing and raising US$128.5 billion in total, according to Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd.'s full-year earnings report. The average daily turnover of the secondary market, meanwhile, jumped 32% to US$88.2 billion in 2017 from a year earlier, driven by higher interest from local investors and strong trading of derivatives.
JAPAN AND KOREA
* Japan's Resona Holdings Inc. will buy back 4 million of its own preferred shares from Dai-ichi Life Holdings Inc. for ¥101.6 billion and cancel the stock, The Nikkei reported. Resona Holdings issued preferred stock in 2015 to repay the remaining balance of public funds injected into the company in 2003.
* Smartplus Ltd., an online brokerage joint venture between Daiwa Securities Group Inc. and its fintech partner Finatext Ltd., will start operations in April with zero-fee stock trading for its customers, The Nikkei reported. The joint venture's fee-free business model is the first of its kind in Japan.
* The board of South Korea-based Hanwha Life Insurance Co. Ltd. approved a decision to issue hybrid securities worth US$1 billion overseas in the second half, the Maeil Business Newspaper reported. Following the transaction, the company's risk-based capital ratio is expected to improve to 226%.
* South Korea-based Mirae Asset Daewoo Co. Ltd. said its Indian subsidiary has begun operations in Mumbai as the first South Korean broker/dealer in India, Yonhap News Agency reported.
* South Korea's Shinhan Bank Co. Ltd. said it has signed a partnership agreement with domestic crowdfunding platform operator Wadiz Corp. to develop a new service platform that combines trust account features to protect customer assets, Yonhap News Agency reported.
ASEAN
* Thailand-based Kasikornbank PCL said it is monitoring transactions related to cryptocurrency trade as requested by the Bank of Thailand, Manager Daily reported. The lender added that its operations would be suspended by the regulator if such transactions are found.
* Indonesian lender PT Bank Syariah Mandiri (Perseroan Terbatas) will allow customers to open Hajj accounts at PT Bank Mandiri (Persero) Tbk's outlets in a bid to strengthen the Islamic lender's position in the market, Bisnis Indonesia reported.
* Malaysian digital currency exchangers said Bank Negara Malaysia's announced anti-money laundering policy for cryptocurrencies gives more certainty to the development of the virtual currency industry in the country, The Sun Daily reported. The policy, which offers no prohibition on bank dealings with digital currency exchangers or businesses, took effect Feb. 27.
SOUTH ASIA
* India-based Bandhan Bank Ltd. and ICICI Securities Ltd. are expected to launch their IPOs in March, Mint reported, citing "at least four people aware of the developments." Bandhan Bank is said to be raising more than 40 billion rupees from the offering, one of the sources said. Meanwhile, the ICICI Bank Ltd. unit's IPO could fetch about 45 billion rupees, according to two of the sources.
* Indian consumer electronics maker Videocon Industries Ltd. will sell its entire 51.32% stake in Liberty Videocon General Insurance Co. Ltd. to Diamond Dealtrade Ltd. and Enam Securities Pvt. Ltd. The country's insurance regulator has approved the transaction but is still subject to various closing conditions.
* India's Axis Bank Ltd. held off on a US$500 million bond offer after overseas investors expressed concerns about the health of the country's banking system in light of the US$1.77 billion fraud at Punjab National Bank, Mint reported, citing "two people aware of the development." The bonds, with a tenor of 5.5 years and a coupon of about 3.25%, were due for placement Feb. 19, the sources noted.
* U.S.-based International Finance Corp., the World Bank Group's private investment arm, proposed a partnership with HSBC Bangladesh to set up a US$200 million risk sharing facility, DealStreet Asia reported, citing a disclosure. The facility is typically a bilateral loss-sharing agreement between IFC and an originator of assets, under which IFC reimburses the originator for a part of the principal losses incurred on a portfolio of eligible assets, the report said.
* Bangladesh's Janata Bank Ltd. named Luna Shamsuddoha its new chairman, making her the first female chairperson of any state-owned lender in the country, The Daily Star reported. Shamsuddoha has been a member of the bank's board since June 2016.
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
* The Australian Securities and Investments Commission will look into financial service providers with a high level of "vertical integration" for possible conflicts of interest, The Australian Financial Review reported, citing Chairman James Shipton. The publication noted that vertical integration is a model where an entity offers both financial advice and manufactures financial products.
* Australian financial services company AMP Ltd. and advisers Macquarie Group and UBS are said to have moved forward on a potential demerger or IPO of AMP's New Zealand business, The Australian Financial Review's Street Talk blog reported. The proposal is being "actively assessed" as the companies look at the value it would make versus separation and other costs, the report said.
* McGrathNicol partners Kare Johnstone and Andrew Grenfell, the interim liquidators of New Zealand-based CBL Insurance Ltd., said the company is currently not in a position to make any claim payments, The New Zealand Herald reported, citing a statement. The liquidators also urged those insured by the CBL Corp. Ltd. unit or who are beneficiaries of its policies to seek advice whether they have to buy new insurance coverage or secure additional or replacement financial risk bonds.
IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD
Middle East & Africa: Mizrahi Tefahot to pay more dividends; FirstRand names new CEO
Europe: Deutsche Bank settles LIBOR case; Sberbank, Erste post YOY rise in FY'17 profits
Latin America: Q4 profits rise for BTG, Sul América; Itaú CorpBanca posts net loss
North America: Goldman Sachs targets middle class with new products; Ocwen buying PHH for $360M
North America Insurance: Alphabet unit in talks for insurance push; commercial insurance prices rise
R Sio, Aries Poon, Sally Wang, Jonathan Cheah, Jaekwon Lim and Santibhap Ussavasodhi contributed to this report.
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