MetLife Expands Asset Management

The asset management arm of MetLife which manages $600bn in assets is buying PineBridge Invesments from Pacific Century Group (with interests in TMT and real estate) owned by Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li in a deal worth up to $1.2bn. Exclusions include PineBridge's private equity funds group and a joint venture in China named Huatai-PineBridge.

Deutsche Bank Hails Offshore RMB Market

Deutsche Bank has hailed the three markets for Chinese currency: onshore CNY (restricted for foreigners), offshore CNH which is fully deliverable (H=helpful for offshore traders), and the USD-denominated NDF market. Offshore daily trading volumes in CNH are now equivalent to USD 2bn. Hong Kong's CNH deposit base stands at 576bn as of January 2012 (HKMA, established 1993).