GREATER CHINA
* Netherlands-headquartered consumer lender Home Credit BV is looking to raise more than US$1 billion in a potential IPO in Hong Kong that could launch as soon as September, Reuters reported. The planned public offering is widely expected to be the most significant test of the city's capital markets following a delay in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s plan to list its US$15 billion offering.
* The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission issued a new regulation to introduce a 30% cap on the proportion of assets that insurance firms can invest in parties related to their shareholders, including subsidiaries and related financial products. Meanwhile, an insurance company's investment in a single shareholder is capped at 15% of the firm's total asset.
* Bank of China Ltd. reached a strategic partnership with China Unionpay Co. Ltd. to expand their cooperation on offshore sales, product development and marketing. The companies will jointly launch some new products, including credit cards and a mobile payment platform.
JAPAN AND KOREA
* Tokyo Century Corp. will acquire the remaining 75.5% stake in aircraft leasing company Aviation Capital Group LLC from U.S.-based Pacific Life Insurance Co. for US$3 billion in December. The Japanese specialty finance company will acquire the shares through its TC Skyward Aviation U.S. Inc. unit.
* U.K.-based Dalton Strategic Partnership LLP is closing its Dalton Capital Japan office, and will consolidate the business with its London operations, Bloomberg News reported, citing an emailed statement from the investment firm. The company cited Brexit and declining demand from European investors for Japanese equities as the reason for the closure.
* SBI Holdings Inc. appears to be interested in supporting troubled Suruga Bank Ltd. as part of its business expansion into regional banks, Tokyo's The Nikkei reported.
* South Korea's Daishin Securities Co. Ltd. will buy back 2,200,000 common shares and 350,000 preferred shares between Sept. 10 and Dec. 9. The estimated cost of the share buyback is 28.7 billion won, according to a filing.
ASEAN
* Thailand's Bank of Ayudhya PCL appointed state-owned Bank for Agriculture & Agricultural Co-operatives as its fifth banking agent, according to a release. This marks the first time that a Thai financial institution appointed a counterpart as its banking agent.
* Thailand-based Kasikornbank PCL expects its loans to grow 5% — in line with its 2019 growth target — mainly driven by lending to large businesses, small- and medium-sized enterprises and retail customers, Manager Daily reported. The lender forecasts its nonperforming loan ratio at 3.4% in late 2019.
* The monetary board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas approved an amendment of guidelines covering the voluntary surrender of banking licenses in a bid to ease the process for institutions, so long as the lenders' finances are in sound condition and are not in violation of banking regulations, The Philippine Star reported.
SOUTH ASIA
* India-based Reliance Capital Ltd. ended talks with Hero FinCorp Ltd. for a potential sale of its Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd. unit, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Advanced talks between the companies did not lead to a deal after Hero FinCorp reportedly failed to secure funds for the transaction.
* Dewan Housing Finance Corp. Ltd. has continued to steadily settle its outstanding debt to mutual funds holding its commercial paper, Financial Express reported, citing unnamed sources. The Indian firm's repayment of dues is being made to avoid further litigation, as DSP Mutual Fund and IDBI Mutual Fund has commenced legal action against the finance company.
* A committee set up by the Reserve Bank of India has recommended that the National Housing Bank establish an intermediary for setting loan origination standards concerning the country's mortgage-backed securitization market. The committee, led by Harsh Vardhan, suggested that the intermediary must have at least 5 billion rupees of initial capital.
* IDBI Bank Ltd. said it would introduce retail loans linked to the country's repo rate, beginning Oct. 1, Mint reported. This follows the Reserve Bank of India's earlier instructions to link all new floating rate retail loans to external benchmark.
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
* Steve Johnston, newly appointed CEO of Suncorp Group Ltd., denied speculations that the conglomerate may sell or spin off some of its business, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. Johnston said the company aims to improve revenues from its wealth, banking and insurance operations, and that there are "practical reasons" to keep its banking unit despite pressure from investors to sell the business.
* Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has appointed David Summerfield managing director and head of the company's Australia hedge fund sales as it begins its equities business in the country, The Australian Financial Review reported. Summerfield was formerly head of sales trading at Deutsche Bank AG's Australia business.
* The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority granted a full banking license to internet banking startup Xinja Bank Ltd., which would let the firm officially operate as an authorized deposit-taking institution and compete with the country's lenders. The bank, which currently offers prepaid cards, will begin offering bank accounts, effective immediately.
* Westpac Banking Corp. has cut interest rates by up to 130 basis points for its fixed rate home loans and Flexi First Option variable rate loans, which marks the lowest rates the bank has offered in 50 years, The Australian Financial Review reported. The reductions were made after its three banking units made similar cuts in late August.
IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD
Middle East & Africa: Fawry eyes new markets; Shuaa to sell units; Access Bank H1 income up YOY
Europe: Lloyds faces £1.8B PPI charge; US probe finds faults in Deutsche's AML controls
Latin America: DBRS upgrades Argentina; Banco do Brasil, UBS said to be finalizing i-bank JV
North America: Ohio banks in deal; JPMorgan nears key IPO role; banks shun small-dollar loans
Global Insurance: Reinsurance takes center stage; BGC hiring; Markel ILS fund manager
Janna Estares, Emily Lai, Jonathan Cheah, Jaekwon Lim and Santibhap Ussavasodhi contributed to this report.
The Daily Dose has an editorial deadline of 6:30 a.m. Hong Kong time. Some external links may require a subscription. Links are current as of publication time, and we are not responsible if those links are unavailable later.
