Asia

MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA - Expanding growth and liquidity has made the Middle East and North African (MENA) one of the more attractive growth regions in the near future, according to senior figures at Pictet Funds.

Asian countries are exposing their citizens to a concentration of risk comparable to that which occurred in the Enron scandal, delegates at Mercer's Asia Pacific Investment Forum have been told this week

JAPAN - Japan has made a reappearance on pension funds' radars, with asset managers reporting higher inflows to equity funds investing in the country.

ASIA PACIFIC - Mercer has created a role in its Asia Pacific region to provide investment solutions to mega funds.

MIDDLE EAST - An increase in multi-national companies in the Middle East is driving demand for Western-style pay and benefit practices, according to Mercer.

TURKEY - Cordea Savills has opened a property fund and Lyxor has launched an ETF to capitalise on Turkey's expanding economy.

SOUTH KOREA - South Korea's National Pension Fund has moved away from US Treasuries because of low yields, according to reports.

JAPAN - Electronics giant Hitachi will contribute stock to a newly established employee retirement benefit trust, in a move to improve its pension financing and increase its utilisation of financial assets.

MIDDLE EAST - BNP Paribas Investment Partners (BNPP IP) and the Saudi Investment Bank (SAIB) have formed an asset management firm in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

MIDDLE EAST - SEI has opened an office in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) to provide investment solutions to clients in the Middle East.