Dispatches: ABC to set up private bank

Agricultural Bank of China, whose initial public offering last month was the world's biggest, will diversify into financial leasing and private banking, it said yesterday. (Shanghai Daily)

Incoming HSBC chief executive Stuart Gulliver said Hong Kong will be his top choice if the global banking giant was to move from its headquarters in London. "If you spoke to any of us ... intuitively, there's one place HSBC would go - if it's not London, it's Hong Kong," said Gulliver after the bank's board meeting at its new China head office in Shanghai yesterday. However, outgoing HSBC chairman Stephen Green said the lender has no plans to relocate. (The Standard)

China has set up the first national credit rating firm that will charge investors rather than borrowers to make independent risk assessments. (Shanghai Daily)

The Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) isn't in a hurry to sell its shares in Citigroup or UBS, as it believes the worst is over for both banks, group chief investment officer Ng Kok Song said yesterday. (Asia One)

The ranks of Asia-Pacific millionaires are likely to continue growing faster than those from developed countries as regional economies led by China and India power ahead, a report said Tuesday. (Asia One)