An executive briefing on banking for Jan 24, 2012, prepared by Asia Pulse (http://www.asiapulse.com), the real-time, Asia-based wire with exclusive news, commercial intelligence and business opportunities.
WORLD'S NO. 1 LENDER EYES S. KOREAN MARKET EXPANSION
SEOUL - The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC, SSE:601398, SEHK:0398), the world's largest lender in terms of listed stock value, is eying expansion into South Korea's market, sources said Tuesday.
According to sources at the Financial Services Commission (FSC), ICBC President Yang Kaisheng had said the bank wants to increase investment and expand the number of offices in the country.
INDIA RECORDS 3% DROP IN VALUE OF CHEQUE TRANSACTIONS IN NOV
MUMBAI - The total value of transactions carried out using cheques across India amounted to Rs 7.85 lakh crore (US$157.13 billion) in November, 2011, down 3 per cent vis-a-vis the same month last year.
Banks had cleared cheques worth Rs 8.09 lakh crore in November, 2010, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
BANKS EXAMINING OPTIONS FOR AIR INDIA'S DEBT RESTRUCTURING
MUMBAI - Indian bankers have explored various options including conversion of the Rs 18,000 crore (US$3.6 billion) loans to SLR as part of the debt restructuring of the ailing Air India carrier and may finalise the bailout package next week.
"We are looking at various instruments like SLR, long-term bonds and non-convertible debentures among others as part of the debt recast plan of Air India," Oriental Bank of Commerce Executive Director S C Sinha told reporters after the debt recast meeting here.
INDIA'S IFCI POSTS 25% DROP IN Q3 NET PROFIT
MUMBAI - Indian financial institution IFCI (BSE:500106) has posted a 25 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 114.05 crore (US$22.83 million) for the third quarter ended December 31.
The company had profit after tax of Rs 152.92 crore in the same period last fiscal year.
INDIA'S KNOWLARITY RAISES US$6.81MLN FROM SEQUOIA CAPITAL
MUMBAI - Indian cloud based-telephony solutions provider Knowlarity has said it has raise Rs 34 crore (US$6.81 million) from venture capital firm Sequoia Capital.
The funding will be used to strengthen R&D activities and expand operations in international markets, Knowlarity said in a statement. It has presence in India and Indonesia and has more than 40,000 Indian SME customers, including MakeMyTrip, Glaxo Smith and Adani group.
INDONESIAN CAR SALES PREDICTED TO SHRINK IF DOWN PAYMENT RAISED
JAKARTA - Indonesian multi-finance companies said an increase in down payment for automotive products will cause a drag in car financing business.
Demand for credits to finance the purchases of cars could shrink by as much as 60 per cent, the association of financing firms said.
INDIA GIVES NOD TO OMAN INVESTMENT FUND TO BUY 5% STAKE IN UCX
NEW DELHI - The Indian government has given a nod to the Oman Investment Fund (OIF), the Sultanate of Oman's sovereign wealth fund, to buy a five per cent stake in the UCX, a national level commodity exchange in the country.
"A week back, we received the Foreign Investment Promotion Board's (FIPB) approval to induct QIF's arm, Funderburk 2 Mauritius as a foreign investor in the UCX,"the exchange's promoter Ketan Sheth told PTI.
INDONESIA'S SMAA SETS NET PROFIT TARGET AT US$322 M LN
JAKARTA - Indonesia's PT Sinar Mas Multiartha (SMMA), the holding company for financial service companies of the Sinar Mas Group has set a net profit target at Rp2.9 trillion (US$322 million) this year, or a 70.6 per cent increase from last year.
SMMA's income is forecast to reach Rp21 trillion this year from Rp16 trillion last year.
INDIA'S KOTAK MAHINDRA BANK Q3 NET UP 21% AT US$92 MLN
MUMBAI - Indian private sector lender Kotak Mahindra Bank has reported a 21 per cent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 462.62 crore (US$92 million) for the third quarter ended December 31, 2011.
The bank had posted a net profit of Rs 381.03 crore on a consolidated basis for the corresponding quarter last fiscal year, Kotak Mahindra Bank said in a filing to the BSE.
INDIA'S PFC MULLS SUBSIDIARY TO FUND COAL PROPERTIES OVERSEAS
NEW DELHI - Indian state-run lender Power Finance Corp (BSE:532810) is mulling setting up a subsidiary to mainly fund Indian firms for their coal mine purchases abroad.
Besides, the subsidiary may also look at other financing aspects of the power projects in India, sources said.
INDIAN C. BANK LIKELY TO MAINTAIN STATUS QUO IN POLICY REVIEW
NEW DELHI - Overlooking the demand of corporate India to lower interest rates, the Reserve Bank of India in its policy review may refrain from cutting policy rate as the inflation of manufactured goods is still high.
"I don't see moderation in the interest rate (in the coming policy). CRR (Cash Reserve Ratio) cut I am not hopeful," SBI (BSE:500112) Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri said.
SRI LANKA'S SENKADAGALA FINANCE DECEMBER NET DOUBLES
COLOMBO - Sri Lanka's Senkadagala Finance said net profit rose 106 per cent to 146 million rupees (US$1.3 million) in the December 2011 quarter from a year ago.
Earnings per share for the quarter rose to 2.73 rupees from 1.32 rupees the year before, according to its interim accounts filed with the Colombo stock exchange.
ANALYSIS - AUSTRALIA HEADING FOR A RATE CUT IN FEBRUARY
SYDNEY - Australia will most probably enjoy an interest rate cut the week after next.
The money market has fully priced a cut to four per cent, down from 4.25 per cent presently and its peak of 4.75 per cent before the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) started winding rates back in November.
INDIA'S POLARIS FINANCIAL TECH POSTS 22% RISE IN DEC QTR PAT
NEW DELHI - India's Polaris Financial Technologies (BSE:532254) has reported a 22 per cent jump in profit after tax (PAT) to Rs 61.07 crore (US$12.16 million) in the quarter ended December 31, 2011, from Rs 50.13 crore in the year-ago period.
The company's revenues stood at Rs 572.53 crore during the quarter under review, up 43 per cent from Rs 399.90 crore in the same period last year, the company said in a statement.
INDIA'S BANK OF MAHARASHTRA POSTS 50% RISE IN Q3 NET PROFIT
MUMBAI - Indian state-owned Bank of Maharashtra (BoM, BSE:532525) has reported a 50 per cent increase in net profit to Rs 135.54 crore (US$26.99 million) for the third quarter ended December 31, 2011.
The bank had posted a net profit of Rs 90.25 crore for the corresponding quarter last fiscal, BoM said in a filing to the BSE.
INDIA'S SYNDICATE BANK POSTS 32% RISE IN Q3 NET PROFIT
MUMBAI - Indian state-owned Syndicate Bank (BSE:532276) has reported a 32 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 338.12 crore (US$67.33 million) for the third quarter ended December 31.
The bank had posted a net profit of Rs 256.19 crore for the corresponding quarter last fiscal year, 2010-11, Syndicate Bank said in a filing to the BSE.
TREASURER WOULD WELCOME FOREIGN LENDERS TO AUST MARKET
CANBERRA - Treasurer Wayne Swan would welcome new foreign lenders to the Australian loans market, saying more competition would mean better deals for borrowers.
Responding to reports Japanese banks are considering entering the Australian home lending market, Mr Swan warned the big domestic banks could no longer take their customers for granted.
CHINA RECORDS DROP IN SOCIAL FINANCING IN 2011
BEIJING - China's social financing, the total amount of money injected into the real economy by the financial system, shrank to 12.8 trillion yuan (US$2.02 trillion) in 2011 from 13.9 trillion yuan in 2010, according to the latest statistics from the country's central bank.
The figure falls 1.17 trillion yuan short of the target, set at 14 trillion yuan in early 2011.
INDIA'S AXIS BANK POSTS 23.6% RISE IN Q3 NET PROFIT
MUMBAI - Indian private sector lender Axis Bank (BSE:532215) has reported a 23.6 per cent increase in net profit to Rs 1,102.27 crore (US$219.48 million) for third quarter ended December 31, 2011.
The bank had posted a net profit of Rs 891.36 crore for the corresponding quarter last fiscal, Axis Bank said in a filing to the BSE.
S.KOREAN ELDERLY CONCERNED MOST ABOUT FINANCES, HEALTH: REPORT
SEOUL - Aging South Koreans cited economic difficulty and health as their biggest concerns, but the weight of their worries varied according to their education levels, a report showed Monday.
In a survey of 60-year-olds by Statistics Korea, 43.2 per cent of the respondents with elementary education picked economic difficulty as their top concern. Health closely followed at 40.5 per cent, while unemployment and loneliness each stood at 4.7 per cent and 4.3 per cent.
CHINA'S TOP 4 BANKS RECORD US$17.37BLN IN NEW LOANS ON JAN 1-10
BEIJING - China's top four banks, namely the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Bank of China (BOC), China Construction Bank (CCB) and Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) that took a lion's share in China's credit market, have reportedly sped up lending since the beginning of this year. They were estimated to have granted 110 billion yuan (US$17.37 billion) in loans on January 1-10, 2012.
A China Securities Journal report Friday projects that new RMB loans in January may reach 900 billion to 1 trillion yuan, a high level.
SHENZHEN DEVELOPMENT BANK ENDORSED TO ACQUIRE PING AN BANK
BEIJING - Boards of directors of Shenzhen Development Bank (SDB, SSZ:000001) and Ping An Bank recently endorsed the proposal of the SDB acquiring Ping An Bank.
Upon completion of the merger, original Ping An Bank will withdraw from business, and the SDB will be renamed as Ping An Bank.
CHINESE BANKS TO FURTHER IMPROVE SUPPORT TO SMALL, MICRO ENT.
BEIJING - China Merchants Bank (CMB; SEHK:03968; SSE:600036) and China CITIC Bank (SEHK:00998; SSE:601998) have recently announced plans to issue financial bonds for small and micro-sized enterprises as special-purpose loan.
The move is part of the country's efforts to further improve financial services to the small and micro-sized enterprises. As of now, China's eight listed commercial banks have all announced such plans.
INDIA'S HDFC BANK POSTS 31% RISE IN DEC QTR NET PROFIT
MUMBAI - India's HDFC Bank (BSE:500180) has reported a 31 per cent growth in its net profit at Rs 1,429.66 crore (US$284.67 million) for the December quarter, mainly on account of increase in interest income and lower provisioning for bad loans.
The banks's net profit in the October-December 2010 was Rs 1,087.83 crore.
INDIA'S FICCI PRES SUGGESTS AMNESTY TO BRING BACK BLACK MONEY
NEW DELHI - The new President of India's Ficci, R V Kanoria, has suggested an amnesty scheme for bringing back black money stashed abroad, stating there should be "protection and anonymity".
"Ultimately this problem has to be addressed...whosoever wishes to bring it back, (would) like to do so with protection and anonymity," Kanoria said at a press conference.
INDIA'S JNPT, ENNORE PORTS DELAY TAX-FREE BOND ISSUANCE PLANS
NEW DELHI - India's major JNPT and Ennore ports have deferred their plans to issue tax-free bonds till next fiscal year, anticipating better market conditions, a top government official said.
"We would like to go for the bond issue next year when probably the interest rate would be more attractive and the market conditions would be better," Shipping Secretary K Mohandas said on the sidelines of the India Maritime Summit here.
INDIA'S SIDBI VENTURE CAPITAL FUND TO INVEST UP TO US$11.95MLN
MUMBAI - India's SIDBI Venture Capital Fund is planning to invest up to Rs 60 crore (US$11.95 million) this year from its recently-raised second SME fund, a top official said.
"We are planning to invest around Rs 50 crore to Rs 60 crore in 2012 out of the recently-raised 'India Opportunity Fund'," SIDBI Venture Capital CEO Ananta P Sarma said.
INDIA'S FEDERAL BANK HIKES INTEREST RATES ON FIXED DEPOSITS
MUMBAI - South-India based Federal Bank (BSE:500469) has hiked interest rates on fixed deposits by up to 0.25 per cent based on maturity period.
Under the revised rates applicable from January 17, a deposit for above two years but less than three years will fetch an interest of 9.50 per cent per annum as compared to the earlier 9.25 per cent.
RATES ON SMALL SAVINGS SCHEMES TO BE FIXED DURING TERM: RBI
MUMBAI - The Reserve Bank of India on Friday said interest rates on small savings schemes, except the PPF, will remain fixed throughout the term of schemes.
It clarified that interest rate for small savings, barring PPF, will be declared on April 1 every year and will remain valid till the maturity of the scheme.
CONSUMER SATISFACTION WITH AUSSIE BANKS EDGES DOWN IN DEC.
MELBOURNE - Business satisfaction with Australia's big four banks largely stalled during December despite three of the lenders passing on interest rate cuts to small businesses.
Satisfaction overall with Westpac (ASX:WBC), Commonwealth Bank (CBA, ASX:CBA) and ANZ Banking Group (ANZ, ASX:ANZ) fell slightly in December from the previous month, the latest monthly data from DBM Consultants finds.
ANALYSIS - ANOTHER AUSTRALIAN RATE CUT SEEMS MORE LIKELY
CANBERRA - Another official interest rate cut is looking more likely in Australia as new evidence shows price pressures are easing.
Prices paid by business grew at their slowest pace in a year in the final three months of 2011, new figures on Monday showed, underpinning hopes that an all-important inflation report due later this week will be even softer than forecast.
CASH INVESTMENTS BY AUST DIY SUPER FUNDS UP 2%: DATA
SYDNEY - Australian do-it-yourself retirement investors boosted their cash holdings to the highest level in two years in the December quarter, new data shows.
Cash investments by self-managed super investors rose two per cent in the first three months of last year, according to a survey of about 1,600 funds collectively holding A$1.3 billion (US$1.36 billion) released on Friday.
ANALYSIS - STALLED WORLD ECONOMY AND AUST BUDGET SURPLUS
CANBERRA - A gloomy outlook for the world economy and stalled growth in Australian jobs have not dented Prime Minister Julia Gillard's confidence about returning the budget to surplus.
The Washington-based World Bank now sees growth of 2.5 per cent in 2012 and 3.1 per cent in 2013, down from its June 2011 forecast of 3.6 per cent for both years.
SRI LANKAN INTERNET BANK CUSTOMERS WARNED OF FAKE WEBSITES
COLOMBO - Sri Lanka's cyber security agency has warned bank customers using internet banking services to beware of fake sites that have stolen passwords of several users.
The Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Centre, the centre for cyber security in the island, said they have got about 10 complaints so far about stolen passwords.
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