News

Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd. and Mizuho Corporate Bank (China), Ltd. concluded a business collaboration agreement with the Dalian Changxing Island Harbor Industrial Zone, Liaoning Province, China, on the occasion of the visit of a group of representatives of Liaoning Province to Japan. This marks the first business collaboration agreement that the Dalian Changxing Island Harbor Industrial Zone has entered into with a Japanese financial institution.

HSBC has opened a rural bank in the Miyun County of Beijing, further expanding its rural banking franchise in mainland China. The Beijing Miyun HSBC Rural Bank Company Limited is the fourth HSBC rural bank to be opened since 2007, when HSBC became the first international bank to enter China’s rural banking market.

Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia, the Asia private equity group of Morgan Stanley, has invested Rs. 182 crores (approximately US$38.5 million) in Biotor Industries Limited, India. This investment in India is the first for Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia and is part of the Fund’s long-term investment initiative in the country.

ING announced that it has closed the sale of its Taiwanese life insurance business to Fubon Financial Holding Co. Ltd., a leading diversified Taiwanese financial services company.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group reported its financial results and said its total assets as of December 31, 2008 increased by 5,898.4 billion yen from March 31, 2008 to 198,891.6 billion yen, and total net assets as of December 31, 2008 decreased by 406.9 billion yen from March 31, 2008 to 9,192.7 billion yen. The decrease in total net assets reflected a decrease of total valuation and translation adjustments by 1,168.2 billion yen, which were mainly due to a decrease of net unrealised gains (losses) on other securities reflecting the decline of share prices, even though total shareholders' equity increased by 752.5 billion yen due to the issuance of new shares and preferred shares through a third-party allotment, and the sale of treasury shares.

HSBC acted as the Sole Financial Adviser to China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. (COLI) on its HK$2.5-billion Open Offer announced on 10 December 2008. The Open Offer was completed on 30 January 2009 and achieved 16.6 times oversubscription of shares available for excess application.

Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities (India) Private Ltd. (Nomura India), a wholly owned subsidiary of Nomura Holdings, Inc. (Nomura), has launched its Equity Sales and Trading and Investment Banking operations in India.

The Asian Venture Capital Journal (AVCJ) has announced its full-year research figures for 2008. The Asian Private Equity and Venture Capital Report shows that Asian private equity enjoyed strong growth throughout the last year, with total capital management for the region breaking through the US$200 billion level for the first time to reach just over US$218 billion, and growing at an annualised rate of 14.4 percent. Trade sale exits also showed a 2.2-percent rise to US$35.3 billion in 2008, sign of a healthy turnover in the industry. However, most other areas of activity, including fundraising, investments, and IPO exits, fell from their 2007 peaks during 2008—sharply in some cases.

IL&FS Investsmart Ltd., an Indian incorporated and 93.86-percent owned subsidiary company of HSBC Holdings plc, has reported a consolidated net loss of Rs67.73 crore (US$13.90 million) for the quarter ended 31 December 2008. This compares to a net loss of Rs26.11 crore (US$5.36 million) for the previous quarter and a net profit of Rs20.56 crore (US$4.22 million) for the quarter ended 31 December 2007.

Nomura Asset Management Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Nomura Holdings, Inc., announced on January 30 the establishment of Nomura Islamic Asset Management Sdn. Bhd. (NIAM), an Islamic fund management firm based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Instinet Inc., a global leader in electronic trading and agency-only brokerage services, today announced that its Instinet Australia Clearing Services Pty Ltd. subsidiary has secured membership on the ASX Settlement and Transfer Corp. (ASTC), which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), and has been successfully clearing and settling client trades for the past three months.

Nomura Holdings, Inc. reported on January 27 its consolidated financial results for the third quarter of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2009.

Nomura Holdings Inc. today announced a third quarter dividend for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2009, of 8.5 yen per share, in line with its target dividend.

ING announced January 26, 2009 that it is taking measures to counter the implications of the persistently challenging economic and market conditions. In order to adapt the organisation to the new business environment, ING is taking several steps to reduce risk and expenses and increase focus on its core savings and investment business.

Aberdeen Asset Management PLC ("the Company") and Aberdeen Warrants (Jersey) Limited announce that, following the approval of the final dividend at the Company's Annual General Meeting, the Exchange Price of the Warrants, forming part of the Company's Convertible Preference Share Units, will reduce from 97.00 pence per Ordinary Share to 94.00 pence per Ordinary Share effective immediately.

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) has won the "Best Credit Card Initiative in Asia" category at the Asian Banking and Finance Retail Banking 2009 Awards Ceremony, held in Singapore on January 2, 2009. This prestigious award recognises RBS’s Switch Platinum Card for its innovative proposition and offering of unparallel financial value and convenience to cardholders.