Asia

SOUTH KOREA - Corporate pension assets in South Korea could nearly triple by the end of the year to KRW40trn (US$32bn) once new tax rules come into effect, Towers Watson estimates found.

ASIA - Asian funds at Newton Investment Management are among the beneficiaries of actions being taken by three of Asia's largest sovereign wealth funds.

JAPAN - Japanese pension funds plan to increase stock and bond investments in emerging markets to diversify their portfolios and boost returns, according to a survey by JPMorgan Chase's asset management business.

INDIA/CANADA - The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has made its first investment in an India-focused private equity fund.

SINGAPORE - Singapore should consider asking companies to contribute more to employees' pensions as the nation's economy improves, said Lim Swee Say, secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress.

JAPAN - Japan's public pension fund, the world's largest, plans to cut the number of money-management firms it uses to simplify operations and adopt new benchmark indexes to reduce market impact and lower trading costs.

ASIA - Mercer has restructured its Asian team to capture growth opportunities in the region.

JAPAN - Religare Enterprises hired a team from KBC Financial Products to tackle the Japanese asset management market.

JAPAN - A high allocation to domestic bonds held back returns at Japan's public pension fund during the last three months of 2009.

INDIA/US - Indian investment bank Religare Enterprises has announced a US$1bn commitment to make "strategic investments" in asset management businesses worldwide and has started by acquiring a stake in a US private equity firm.