Asia-Pacific wealth: 6.4% of Japanese will be 'wealthy' by 2004

Published By Datamonitor

Asian hedge funds: false hope

Fund managers in Hong Kong and Singapore are already developing new hedge fund products, as governments plan to liberalize regulations. However, there's little fit between hedge funds and their new target, retail investors. There may soon be a lot of disappointed asset managers across Asia - and a waste of valuable marketing resources.

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Asian millionaires: a tough bunch

The number of Asian millionaires is still increasing, despite global market volatility. Asia's economies have seen strong economic growth, while income inequality has not diminished. The combination of evolving investor preferences, increasingly rich investors, and limited competition makes Asia increasingly seem the wealth management market to be in.

Published By Datamonitor

Taiwanese credit cards: fool's gold

In an intensely competitive market, any attempt by FSIs to build market share is understandable, however blind issuance of credit cards could do more harm than good. Taiwanese FSIs should learn from the lessons of regional peers and increase the quality of borrowers rather than just the number of cards issued.<BR />

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CSFB: service in Singapore

Credit Suisse First Boston is opening its fourth largest global back-office and IT support center in Singapore. The bank's attitude to service provision is changing and both shared services and outsourcing are set to receive increased attention.

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Balance is key to averting Asian credit card turmoil

Recent events in South Korea have overshadowed more general concerns about the direction of Asian credit card markets. While turmoil in South Korea has been the most high profile, Datamonitor's Alex Boorman argues that the contributory factors are not too dissimilar from those that are noticeable elsewhere in the region...

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Merrill Lynch: new wealth management hub in Asia

Merrill Lynch [MER] has announced its intention to make Singapore the new hub of its Asian wealth management business. The move follows strong full year results for the group's Global Private Client division. Merrill now appears to be back on the growth path but it still has some way to go before its private banking business becomes truly global.

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Hong Leong: Islamic bank to enhance Malaysia offerings

Hong Leong Bank has launched Hong Leong Islamic Bank in its home market, Malaysia, offering wealth management, personal financial services, capital markets products and structured finance. Considering that Malaysia is emerging as Asia-Pacific's Islamic banking center, Hong Leong is right to capitalize on its existing strength in this market.

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Singapore plastic cards: Visa's platinum is not so shiny for retailers

Singaporean merchants offering Visa payment services were notified in early May that the fee that they pay to Visa is increasing from 2% to 2.25%. This fee has to be absorbed by retailers and will adversely affect the relationship between the two parties.

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Singapore credit card market: innovation stimulates short term growth

The Monetary Authority of Singapore recently released the June figures for credit and charge card billings. The figures indicated that spending growth is close to that seen five years earlier when the market peaked. While Singapore's market is considered mature, new spending habits have indicated that this market has room for further growth.

Published By Datamonitor