US buyout heavyweight opens in Asia
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, a leading US-based private-equity firm that specializes in management buyouts, is opening offices in Hong Kong and Tokyo, its first in Asia. KKR is looking for investments throughout the Asia Pacific region. Its investment remit is wide: the firm will seek opportunities in manufacturing, sourcing of products and joint venture opportunities for existing portfolio companies as well as buyout transactions in more developed economies, cross-border acquisitions in partnership with Asian companies and growth equity investments in emerging markets.
Indian regulator loses out to Swiss bank
In a rare event in Asia's financial markets, where domestic regulators tend to rule with an iron fist, especially against foreign institutions suspected of misdeeds, India's key financial services regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, lost a battle with Swiss bank UBS. In May, SEBI barred UBS Securities for one year from issuing overseas derivative contracts on Indian securities on the grounds that it had manipulated the market during the crash that followed the Indian general election.
However, in a ruling in September, the Securities Appellate Tribunal, overturned the ban, saying it saw no reason to uphold the orders.