China
Bank Mandiri ready to open Shanghai branch
Bank Mandiri ready to open Shanghai branch
Bank Mandiri expects to open a new branch in Shanghai later this year to boost its business and tap Indonesian corporations in China. It waited for almost five years for this. “We are now waiting for final approval from one of the regulators, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange in China,” said Haryanto Budiman, a senior executive vice president at Bank Mandiri. “The hope is that we can open the branch at the end of this year.” Haryanto said Bank Mandiri, Indonesia’s largest lender by assets, had to obtain a number of licenses from Chinese regulators. “China has a multi-license principle and there are numerous regulators in China,’’ he said, detailing the effort needed to secure a license. “It takes time, at least five years.” The China Banking Regulatory Commission granted Mandiri one of the necessary licenses in November last year. Mandiri will have to make a profit in consecutive years following the start of its operation in China, Haryanto said. “If we can make a profit for two straight years, then we will be allowed to use the Chinese yuan for transactions,’’ he said. Mandiri’s president director, Zulkifli Zaini, said in August that boosting lending in Indonesia and aggressively moving to tap markets would make the bank a regional player in the next two years. It hopes to be a top five bank in Southeast Asia by 2014 and top three by 2020. The full soptgry is available at Jakarta Globe.
Regulatory requirement makes foreign banks in China race for cash
The Chinese Banking Regulatory Commission’s 75% loan-to-deposit ratio requirement is giving banks a tough time.
Foreign banks in China remain positive on expansion moves
Foreign lenders strive to survive despite losing market share as domestic banks are gaining competitiveness.
HSBC appoints Christopher Adams as director of Global Asset Management
Prior to joining HSBC, Mr Adams was Vice President for BlackRock’s Asia ex Japan active equity capability.
AsiaPac banks gear up for Basel III
Standard & Poor’s says most Asian banks won’t find it difficult to comply with Basel III’s new capital requirements.
Chinese government vigilant for ‘shadow bankers’
More than 80 businessmen mysteriously disappeared or committed suicide to avoid repaying debts to informal lenders.
BoCom gets go signal to sell $4bn subordinated bonds
The lender kicked off the capital structure improvement process with a $3.9bn sale in July 2009.
China Merchants Bank secures regulator’s approval for CNY35bn rights issue
But the application process with the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the HKEx is still ongoing.
Forex reserve growth of China slows down
Decreased growth said to show the depth of unease created by debt fears in Europe and the weak U.S. economy.
Listed banks in China eye 30% profit growth in 3rd quarter
Analysts believe large banks’ interest margin to peak in the second quarter as their assets quality remains stable.
Ms Sue Yang resigns as nonexecutive director of China Construction Bank
Her resignation became effective from 11 October 2011.
HSBC expands renminbi trade services to all China branches
The move will provide the lender widest geographic RMB trade coverage among all foreign banks in China.
China bad debt seen to soar to 60% of bank equity
Analyst say intervention of Central Huijin to shore up the banks shows that banks’ financial health is deteriorating.
Liquidity risk management for Chinese banks to be enhanced
China's banking regulator has begun soliciting public opinions on a new draft in a bid to improve banks' liquidity risk management and safeguard the safety and stability of China's banking system, reports Xinhua News.
Banks Urged To Rethink Traditional IT Security Practices
Banks and financial institutions should rethink their traditional network security practices as mobile devices proliferate, bandwidth demand expands and new cyber threats emerge, according to Fortinet, a leading network security provider.
Banks to bail out Wenzhou firms
Eleven work groups have been sent to oversee a bank bailout of private firms suffering from a liquidity crunch in a coordinated move to tackle the Wenzhou debt crisis.
Shares of Chinese banks rally after Huijin purchase
Shares of China's banks rallied Central Huijin Investment Ltd started buying shares in the four major State-owned banks. But analysts said that the small increase in the benchmark Shanghai exchange index will not extend into a long-term rally. They said that it was only a short-term rebound in the A-share market, which fell to a 30-month low of 2,344.79 on Monday. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd gained 1.5 percent in Shanghai, the most in six weeks. China Construction Bank Corp, Agricultural Bank of China Ltd and Bank of China Ltd all climbed more than 2 percent The four banks did better in Hong Kong, where they are also listed, with ABC jumping 12 percent and the other three rising at least 5.8 percent. Central Huijin Investment Ltd, set up to hold government stakes in the banks, raised its holdings in the big four banks in the secondary market on Monday after the banks' valuations dropped below the level hit during the financial crisis in 2008. Central Huijin said it will continue with "related market operations" over the next 12 months. But it didn't say how much it will invest and whether it will buy the shares in Hong Kong or Shanghai. "The move by Central Huijin is a signal that the government has decided to take measures to prop up the stock market," said Wang Jianhui, chief economist with Southwest Securities Co Ltd. "But the effect will be limited because what investors worry most about are the fundamentals of the Chinese and global economies, which have not shown signs of improving." Xu Guangfu, an analyst with Xiangcai Securities Co Ltd, was more optimistic. He estimated that the rally would continue for as long as two months, with the index increasing 200 to 300 points. An analyst with a major foreign investment bank in Shanghai, who declined to be identified, interpreted Central Huijin's purchase as a move to raise its ownership, motivated by concern that the banks' repeated offerings will dilute its holdings.
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