SEOUL - A Seoul court ordered an asset management firm and a bank to pay 6.1 billion won (US$5.25 million) to over 200 investors to compensate for their losses, the largest amount ever awarded in a damages suit, court officials said Monday.

The 214 plaintiffs in the case had invested in an equity-linked fund (ELF) managed by Woori Asset Management and sold by Hana Bank in 2007. The fund had attracted 28.4 billion won from some 980 investors.

ANZ BANKING COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF RBS' PHILIPPINES UNIT

MELBOURNE - ANZ Banking Group Ltd (ANZ) (ASX:ANZ) has completed its acquisition of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc's (RBS) Philippines unit and will complete its acquisition of RBS' Vietnam unit by December 31, 2009.

ANZ announced in August it would pay $US550 million ($A665.58 million) to acquire six units from RBS which span retail, commercial and institutional banking and wealth management.

SYNDICATED LOANS TO TAIWAN LCD PANEL MAKERS TOTAL OVER US$3.1 BLN

TAIPEI - Based on a brighter outlook for the LCD panel industry in 2010, Taiwan's LCD panel makers have revised their capital spending plan, which has helped push the total value of syndicated loans to the country's major LCD makers to over NT$100 billion (US$3.1 billion), industry experts said Saturday.

Taiwan-based Innolux Display Corp. (TAIEX:3481), after announcing Nov. 14 it would merge with Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp. (TAIEX: 3009), signed with 19 banks Monday for a syndicated loan of NT$48 billion (US$1.49 billion), the largest in the local LCD panel industry so far this year.

S KOREAN ASSET MANAGER EARNINGS DROP 6.1 PCT IN H1

SEOUL - Asset management companies in South Korea saw their earnings fall 6.1 per cent on-year in the first half of fiscal 2009 due to rising fund redemptions, the financial watchdog said Sunday.

The combined net profit of 68 local and foreign asset managers stood at 267.9 billion won (US$231.1 million) in the April-September period, compared with 285.4 billion won a year earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

S KOREA'S BANK DAILY FOREX TURNOVER UP 2.4 PCT IN Q3

SEOUL - Foreign exchange turnover by banks in South Korea rose 2.4 per cent in the third quarter from three months earlier on increased trading of FX derivatives, the central bank said Sunday.

The daily foreign exchange turnover averaged US$45.52 billion in the July-September period, compared with $44.46 billion the previous quarter and marking the second straight quarterly rise, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

INDIA'S SBI CARD LAUNCHES MSHOP

MUMBAI - SBI Card, the Indian credit card service offering from the State Bank and GE Capital, today launched mShop to enable its customers shop from over 100 merchants across the country, using their mobile phones.

mShop offers SBI Card customers the convenience of transacting anytime, anywhere, while ensuring complete security of their transactions, an SBI Card press release said.

HANA FINANCIAL INTERESTED IN BUYING KOREA EXCHANGE BANK

SEOUL - The chief of Hana Financial Group Inc. (KSE:086790), South Korea's fourth-largest financial services company, has shown his company's interest in acquiring Korea Exchange Bank (KSE:004940), controlled by U.S. private equity firm Lone Star.

The remark by Hana Financial Chairman Kim Seung-yu, made on Friday at a meeting with reporters, means the company will join industry leader KB Financial Group Inc. (KSE:105560) and the state-run Korea Development Bank in expressing interest in buying the country's sixth-largest lender from Lone Star.

HSBC EMPOWERS INDONESIAN SMES IN TAPPING GLOBAL TRADE MARKET

JAKARTA - The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) inked a deal on Thursday with Small Middle Enterprises (SMEs) businesses joined in Indonesian Business Woman Association (IWAPI), aimed at assisting the organization members in anticipating market potentialities.

The cooperation agreement with the IWAPI also made HSBC the first foreign bank operating in Indonesia to provide special business account particularly for Indonesian businesswomen organization.

CHINA'S CENTRAL BANK MAY ADJUST REQUIRED RESERVE RATIO IN 2010

BEIJING - The People's Bank of China, China's central bank, may adjust its required reserve ratio next year in response to rapid growth in asset prices, but changing monetary policy tools does indicate directional change.

Wu Xiaoling, deputy director of the Financial and Economic Committee with the National People's Congress, made the remarks on Thursday in a speech at the Central University of Finance and Economics.

AGRI BANK OF CHINA IN NEGOTIATIONS WITH SOCIAL SECURITY FUND

BEIJING - The Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) on Thursday announced that the bank is negotiating with the Social Security Fund (SSF) on possible cooperation.

The ABC failed to disclose the details of any cooperation, but did not deny the possibility that the SSF would become a strategic investor in the bank.

CHINA'S PING AN ASSET MANAGEMENT APPROVED TO INVEST IN DEBENTURE BONDS

SHANGHAI - Ping An Asset Management Company, a subsidiary of Ping An Insurance (Group) of China (SSE:601318, SEHK:2318), received approval from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) to invest in debenture bonds on Thursday.

Earlier this year, the CIRC issued a notice to expand the bond varieties which insurance companies can invest in.