Financials
Bahrain's Al Baraka may seek Malaysian, Indonesian banks
Bahrain's foremost publicly traded Islamic bank, Al Baraka Banking Group, may be seeking to spend up to $200 million on buying banks in Malaysia and Indonesia, according to the bank's CEO.
HSBC PE Asia spins out to management
HSBC has followed through on its plan, first discussed internally in June this year, to spin out its private equity divisions, at least in Asia, with the sale by HSBC Holdings of 80.1% of HSBC Private Equity (Asia) Ltd. to Foci Holdings, an SPV backed...
Banks far down the spinout trail?
HSBC Private Equity Asia's spinout comes as no surprise.
ANZ/KEB due diligence ongoing
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) is continuing its due diligence for the potential purchase of a 57.27% stake in Lone Star Funds investee Korea Exchange Bank.
Standard Chartered Private Equity begins partial exit from Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services
Standard Chartered Private Equity is reportedly in the process of partially exiting its stake in Indian rural-focused, auto-finance firm Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services, for an estimated 2.2x return on its investment.
Buyout firm among bidders for Korea's Woori Bank
The South Korean government has narrowed the field of potential bidders in the $6 billion privatization of Woori Finance Holdings to four, including one buyout fund, according to a government spokesperson.
CICC loses talent as KKR, TPG deal nears
The $1 billion-plus sale of Morgan Stanley's 34.3% stake in leading PRC i-bank China International Capital Corp (CICC) to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and TPG Capital appears to be coinciding with a talent flight from the bank, as the bank moves to allow...
Wang steps down from DB
Pying-Huan Wang, formerly a director at Deutsche Bank where she was leading investment management with oversight of the bank's PEG Group in Switzerland, has now quit the firm, with her future plans apparently including further asset management work in...
ChrysCapital partially divests from Bajaj Auto Finance
PE firm ChrysCapital Management has reportedly made a partial exit from its holding Bajaj Auto Finance, selling approximately half of its 9% stake in the company for $24 million to Bajaj Finserv, the financial services arm of the Bajaj Group.
AIG seeks early September listing for AIA
US insurance giant AIG is apparently looking to list its star Asian subsidiary AIA in Hong Kong toward the beginning of its expected listing window, planning to seek authorization around the third week of September, with the putative listing in October,...
Nan Shan a no-go for Primus
The sale of AIG's Nan Shan Life Insurance unit to China Strategic and Primus Financial Holdings was poised to be one of Asia’s biggest private equity deals of the year, but following regulators’ rejection of a consortium’s $2.15 billion bid, it may still...
Lazard exits D&B Australia, seeing 3x profit on initial investment
The Australian private equity arm of financial advisory firm Lazard Ltd. has fully exited credit-reporting and debt-collecting business Dun & Bradstreet Australia, selling the business to a subsidiary of the D&B Corp. for A$233 million ($209 million)...
Milestone Capital's JVs invest in CARE
Milestone Capital has invested INR75 crore ($17 million) in Indian credit-rating agency Credit Analysis & Research Ltd (CARE) via two of its joint ventures, the Milestone Religare Investment Advisors and Capstone Investment Advisors.
Taiwanese diplomat plans for Nan Shan counter bid
In an effort to thwart a consortium led by China Strategic and Primus Financial Holdings from taking control of AIG’s Taiwanese unit Nan Shan Life Insurance, retired Taiwanese diplomat Wang Shih-jung has set up a company financed by Japanese and Qatari...
China's new investment policy opens PE to insurers
China’s Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) has announced a temporary measure on the use of insurance capital which will allow insurance companies to make direct investment in private companies, as well as private equity funds, for the first time....
China's banking regulator looks at banks' PE operations
The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) reportedly held a meeting with local lenders to gather information on their private equity business, in order to check on internal controls over their activities in the segment.
Tata Capital in talks to acquire TT Forex
Tata Capital is reportedly nearing a deal with Indian conglomerate TTK Group to acquire its foreign exchange unit TT Forex.
Muthoot raises $9.2 million from Kotak as part of second funding round
One month after Indian non-bank financial company Muthoot raised INR157 crore ($33.6 million) from Baring Private Equity Partners India and Matrix Partners India as part of its first institutional funding round, the company has now garnered an additional...
ANZ report suggests KEB sale still on
Despite earlier unconfirmed reports that Lone Star Funds was canceling its sale of its 51% stake in Korea Exchange Bank, fresh indications have emerged that the sale is still on, with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) reiterating its interest...
CICC recruits Barclays' Peng Wensheng
China International Capital Corp. has recruited a new chief economist, Peng Wensheng, the former head of China research with Barclays Capital and an alumnus of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, according to reports.
Macquarie recruits Garg for TMT
Macquarie Capital has hired Anupam Garg, formerly SVP with Singapore Technologies Telemedia, to be its telecommunications, media, entertainment and technology (TMET) investment banking co-head for Asia.
Lone Star scrubs KEB sale - or not?
Reports from Korea - sometimes unreliable in business news reporting - have indicated that Lone Star Funds has canceled the sale of its 51% stake in Korea Exchange Bank (KEB), due to lack of buyer interest.
ANZ diligencing KEB for $3.8 billion stake
After a long-running, stop-and-go series of reports on its participation in bidding for Lone Star Funds' stake in Korea Exchange Bank (KEB), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) has confirmed that it is doing due diligence on an up to 57.27%...
AgBank follow-on pushes over record
The Agricultural Bank of China, invested by the China Investment Corp (CIC), Singapore's Temasek Holdings and the SWFs of Qatar and Kuwait, has seen a follow-on share issue to its Hong Kong and Shanghai IPO push the listing's total value to an all-time...