GREATER CHINA
* The China Securities Regulatory Commission will temporarily delay approval of new mutual funds that plan to invest more than 80% of their portfolio in Hong Kong-listed equities, the South China Morning Post reported, citing two state-owned funds familiar with the matter, which in turn cited an order from the securities regulator. The move comes amid concerns that Hong Kong's stock benchmark has risen too much too quickly to a level that mirrors that of 2007 before the global financial crisis, the report said.
* The People's Bank of China and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority renewed their currency swap agreement for a term of another three years, Shanghai Securities News reported. The swap size is 400 billion yuan.
* Meanwhile, China's central bank and the China Banking Regulatory Commission capped the upper limit of microloan interest rates at no higher than 36%, Xinhua News Agency reported.
* Bermuda-based Sirius International Insurance Group Ltd., an affiliate of China Minsheng Investment Group Corp Ltd., will exercise its call option to acquire Delek Group Ltd.'s remaining 47% stake in Israel-based insurance company Phoenix Holdings Ltd. In September, Sirius signed the call option agreement for Delek Group's total 52.25% stake.
* Chubb Ltd. and PICC Property & Casualty Co. Ltd. entered a 10-year strategic cooperation agreement. Under the agreement, the companies will establish "China desks" for Chinese-affiliated enterprises in Chubb's global offices, and Chubb will make its global insurance capabilities available to PICC and its customers.
* Standard Chartered Plc is planning to enter one or two joint ventures in aviation finance and considering listing its joint venture with Chinese state-owned Sichuan Development Holding Co., Ltd., the Financial Times reported, citing Sumit Dayal, the bank's head of corporate finance.
* Shandong International Trust launched an IPO in Hong Kong to raise up to HK$3.51 billion, the South China Morning Post reported. The company is the first trust from China to list its shares in Hong Kong. The shares have an indicative price range of HK$4.46 to HK$5.43 each and are expected to start trading Dec. 8.
JAPAN AND KOREA
* Japanese regional banks and life insurance companies are shifting their bond-buying program to Europe, The Nikkei reported. Their combined net buy volume of French government bonds exceeded ¥1 trillion in the period between April and September.
* Japanese property and casualty insurer Sompo Holdings Inc. set up a fintech hub in Tel Aviv, Israel, as it looks to benefit from local expertise in digital and cybersecurity, Reuters reported.
* The Korea Federation of Banks nominated Kim Tae-young, former CEO of banking and insurance at the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, as chairman, The Chosun Ilbo reported.
* Lawmaker Park Chan-dae of the ruling Minjoo Party of Korea questioned the eligibility of Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee as a major shareholder of Samsung Life Insurance Co. Ltd., citing governance law violations related to his personal assets stashed away in overseas accounts, Yonhap News Agency reported. Lee currently owns 20.76% of Samsung Life Insurance.
* NongHyup Financial Group Inc. will set up a REITs asset management unit as part of its business diversification, the Maeil Business Newspaper reported.
ASEAN
* Bank Indonesia and the central banks of Malaysia and Thailand have agreed to settle trade transactions in their respective local currencies, reducing their dependence on the U.S. dollar, Antara News Agency reported.
* CIMB Thai Bank PCL recorded more than 200 billion baht in total value of deals in 2017, surpassing its target of 100 billion to 150 billion baht, the Manager Daily reported. The bank plans to double the number of deals it handled to 20 in 2018 from 10 in 2017.
* PT BNI Life Insurance posted a premium income of 4.7 trillion Indonesian rupiah in the period to October, which is more than 70% of its target for 2017, Bisnis Indonesia reported, citing the insurer's president director, Geger N. Maulana.
* Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. Ltd. said it completed the acquisition of National Australia Bank Ltd.'s private wealth business in Hong Kong through its subsidiary OCBC Wing Hang Bank Ltd.
SOUTH ASIA
* India's RBL Bank Ltd. could make Swadhaar FinServe Pvt. Ltd. a wholly owned subsidiary after raising its stake in the financial services company to 60.48% from 30%. The bank holds rights to further boost its stake in the unit to 100%, subject to regulatory approval.
* Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. Chairman-cum-Managing Director A.V. Girija Kumar said the insurer plans to launch its IPO in the next fiscal year, Business Standard reported. The valuation and stake percentage to be sold will be decided on prior to the end of the current fiscal year.
* IDBI Bank Ltd. said its board of directors gave the nod to divest a 1.5% stake in the National Stock Exchange. The lender will sell 7,415,680 shares in the bourse.
* Bank of Baroda launched its digital supply chain solution to expedite the credit approval process and reduce risks for small and medium-sized enterprises and large corporate clients, The Economic Times reported, citing Managing Director P.S. Jayakumar.
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
* Australia's Challenger Ltd. is interested in AMP Ltd.'s life insurance business AMP Life Ltd., which is up for sale, The Australian Financial Review reported, without citing any sources. It was previously reported that the company was mainly interested in offshore investors.
* Australian fintech company Money Me will receive A$100 million in debt capital investment from Fortress Investment Group LLC to support its consumer lending growth ahead of a possible IPO in 2019, The Australian Financial Review reported. The investment is part of a A$120 million asset-backed securitization deal that includes a A$20 million bond issued by Evans & Partners.
* Peer-to-peer lending platforms showed support for tighter regulations on the disclosure of rates and fees to small businesses amid reports that some players charge excessive rates, The Australian reported. Daniel Foggo, CEO of P2P company RateSetter, called for the Australian Securities & Investments Commission to get involved in the issue.
* P2P lending platforms in New Zealand issued NZ$259.9 million in loans to individuals in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017, and NZ$29.5 million in loans to businesses, data from the country's Financial Markets Authority showed.
IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD
Middle East & Africa: S&P downgrades South Africa; Trade Bank of Iraq eyes Saudi, UAE expansion
Europe: EU banks stronger; Julius Bär gets new CEO; Allianz eyes more of Euler Hermes
Latin America: Honduran opposition bet leads in polls; Mexico finance minister set to quit
North America: Leadership clash at CFPB heads to court
North America Insurance: Surge in cheap ACA plans; state blocked from seizing Pa. insurer's reserves
Janna Estares, Sally Wang, Jonathan Cheah, Jaekwon Lim and Santibhap Ussavasodhi contributed to this report.
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