GREATER CHINA
* Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. will continue to engage London Stock Exchange Group PLC's shareholders despite the group rejecting its proposed merger. HKEX believes the deal will result in more benefits for them versus the latter's plan to acquire financial data provider Refinitiv, and added that it was disappointed that the London-based exchange had refused to "properly engage" in talks to discuss the merits of merging.
* Taiwan's central bank may keep its key interest rate unchanged during its policy meeting on Sept. 19 amid continuous economic growth and inflow of foreign funds into the island, Central News Agency reported. Sun Ming-Te, director of Taiwan Institute of Economic Research's macroeconomic forecasting center, said the island's GDP growth might reach 2.45% in 2019, leaving the central bank room to hold rates at the current level.
* Chinese firms previously characterized to have a strong desire for mergers and acquisitions have shifted their strategy, as they increased their sales of overseas assets to about US$40 billion since January from US$32 billion for the entirety of 2018, the Financial Times reported, citing data from Dealogic. Overseas acquisitions totaled US$35 billion so far this year, making China a global net seller for the first time in 10 years.
JAPAN AND KOREA
* Japanese regional banks Fukui Bank Ltd. and Fukuho Bank Ltd. plan to work together to increase efficiency, with a possible future capital alliance in mind, The Nikkei reported.
* Japanese banks may consider applying maintenance fees for retail deposit accounts if the Bank of Japan further reduces rates into negative territory, Bloomberg News reported, citing JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst Rie Nishihara. According to Nishihara, another rate cut could wipe out ¥500 billion in bank profits. BOJ board member Hitoshi Suzuki said in August that if lending rates decline further, some financial institutions may start to charge fees, making deposit rates virtually negative.
* A German real estate consortium including South Korea's Hana Financial Group Inc. emerged as the preferred bidder for The Squaire building at Frankfurt Airport, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing industry insiders.
* Export-Import Bank of Korea has expressed concerns about Korea Development Bank Chairman and CEO Lee Dong-gull's statement that he plans to propose a potential merger of the two policy banks to the government, The Chosun Ilbo reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. The bank believes that the proposed consolidation would not be beneficial to the lenders.
ASEAN
* Hong Leong Finance Ltd. President Ang Tang Chor said the Singapore-based lender has been in talks with financial technology firms for a potential joint application for a virtual banking license in the city-state, Bloomberg News reported. Ang did not identify the fintech companies, and said some were reluctant to enter into such partnerships because they want to apply on their own.
* Malaysia's CIMB Group Holdings Bhd. appointed Ahmad Shahriman Mohd Shariff CEO of CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd. and CEO of group Islamic banking. He replaces Rafe Haneef who was appointed CEO of group transaction banking effective Oct. 1. Further, the bank said Victor Lee Meng Teck will take on the additional role of country head for Singapore following Mak Lye Mun's retirement on Dec. 31.
* Bank Indonesia Senior Deputy Governor Destry Damayanti hinted that the central bank might reduce rates further to support domestic growth amid a global economic slowdown and benign consumer prices, The Jakarta Post reported.
* Thai lender TMB Bank PCL increased its special interest rate on six- and 12-month fixed deposit accounts worth at least 500,000 baht, to up to 1.85% until Sept. 30, Post Today reported.
SOUTH ASIA
* State Bank of India Chairman Rajnish Kumar said the lender will no longer list SBI General Insurance Co. Ltd. as there is no need to raise further capital, the Press Trust of India reported. Instead, the bank is now focused on listing another subsidiary, SBI Cards and Payment Services Private Ltd., in the quarter ending March 2020, as investors have expressed interest in the unit.
* United Bank of India looks to raise up to 30 billion rupees of equity capital through an issuance of preferential allotment of equity shares in one or more tranches. The lender also said it cut its tenor-based marginal cost of funds-based lending rate, or MCLR, by 10 basis points for one-year and six-month MCLRs and 5 basis points for three-month MCLR.
* Pakistan's government is deliberating the potential privatization of State Life Insurance Corp. of Pakistan Ltd and National Bank of Pakistan with plans to divest the state-owned shares in State Life, Pakistan Today reported, citing two government officials.
* Sri Lanka's LB Finance PLC named Anandhiy Gunawardhana chairperson of the company, following the retirement of Shirani Jayasekara from the role, Daily FT reported. Gunawardhana, an independent nonexecutive director of the firm, was appointed to the board in March 2013.
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
* The Reserve Bank of Australia is under "additional pressure" to cut the cash rate further, which currently stands at 1%, in order to stimulate the economy following the European Central Bank's decision to reduce the deposit rate to -0.5%, Australia's ABC News reported, citing National Australia Bank Ltd. chief economist Alan Oster.
* Nonprofit superannuation funds, including Industry Super Australia, are urging the Australian Financial Complaints Authority to make changes to its funding mechanism, as the surge of superannuation-related complaints prompted the authority to impose higher charges on funds compared to 2018, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
* James Shipton, chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, has deflected blame for tightened provisions of credit and denied that the regulator's approach in implementing responsible lending guidelines contributed to delays in approving credit lines, The Australian Financial Review reported.
Janna Estares, Sally Wang, Sarun Saelee, Cathy Hwang, Emi White and Aditya Suharmoko contributed to this report.
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