HONG KONG (Reuters) – A deal-making frenzy in Asia’s insurance industry is turning up the heat on buyers to fork out huge sums or miss out on a prime chance to tap into the sector’s fastest growing market, and few predict a slowdown despite the eye-popping prices.

The appeal of Asia’s growing middle class and rising personal income pushed insurance takeovers in the region to a record $30.5 billion last year, according to S&P Capital IQ, a data compiler. At least $5 billion more are in the pipeline and that’s good news for bankers, lawyers and shareholders such as Malaysia’s AMMB Holdings Bhd (AMMB.KL: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which is shedding its life insurance unit.

HONG KONG/TOKYO, April 11 (Reuters) – South Korea could
become the second major buyer of Iran’s crude to face a halt in
imports from the Middle Eastern nation, as insurers broaden
Western sanctions to refineries, people involved with the matter
say.

Tough curbs by the United States and Europe to force Tehran
to end its nuclear programme have more than halved Iran’s oil
exports over the past year, as an EU ban on insurers aiding
transport of its crude left buyers unable to find coverage.

SHANGHAI/HONG KONG (Reuters) – Chinese authorities slaughtered over 20,000 birds at a poultry market in Shanghai on Friday as the death toll from a new strain of bird flu mounted to six, spreading concern overseas and sparking a sell-off in airline shares in Europe and Hong Kong.

The local government in Shanghai said the Huhuai market for live birds had been shut down and 20,536 birds had been culled after authorities detected the H7N9 virus from samples of pigeons in the market. Other live poultry markets in the city will be closed down from Saturday, it said.

SHANGHAI/HONG KONG (Reuters) – China said it was mobilizing resources nationwide to combat a new strain of bird flu that has killed six people, as Japan and Hong Kong stepped up vigilance and the United States said it was closely monitoring the situation.

All of the 14 reported infections from the H7N9 bird flu strain have been in eastern China and at least four of the six dead are in the financial hub of Shanghai, a city of 20 million people.

HONG KONG, Jan 28 (Reuters) – The former chairman of a
Chinese mining equipment firm bought by Caterpillar Inc
said on Monday he was dismayed by allegations of accounting
misconduct at a subsidiary that prompted the U.S. firm to take a
$580 million writedown.

Emory Williams Jr said Caterpillar had conducted extensive
due diligence before its takeover of Hong Kong-listed ERA Mining
Machinery Ltd last June, adding that he was seeking further
details from the company, the world’s largest maker of tractors
and excavators.

HONG KONG (Reuters) – A Chinese mining equipment company at the centre of an alleged accounting fraud was also involved in a web of insider loans and asset transfers prior to its purchase by Caterpillar Inc., public filings show.

The transactions, while not illegal, should have sounded warnings about the company’s finances when the U.S. firm came calling last year, corporate governance experts said.

HONG KONG (Reuters) – China’s insurance regulator is expected to reject HSBC’s sale of its $9.4 billion stake in Ping An Insurance (2318.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (601318.SS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to Thai conglomerate CP Group, media reports said on Wednesday.

The failure of the deal would be a blow to HSBC (HSBA.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (0005.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and an embarrassment to the various parties involved in a corporate deal that was set to be Asia’s second-largest last year.

HONG KONG, Jan 9 (Reuters) –
China’s insurance regulator is expected to reject HSBC’s sale of
its $9.4 billion stake in Ping An Insurance
to Thai conglomerate CP Group, media reports said on
Wednesday.

The failure of the deal would be a blow to HSBC
and an embarrassment to the various parties involved
in a corporate deal that was set to be Asia’s second-largest
last year.

BEIJING/HONG KONG (Reuters) – State-run China Development Bank (CDB) has expressed concern over the funding behind the effort of Thailand’s CP Group to buy HSBC’s stake in Ping An Insurance (601318.SS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (2318.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), sources told Reuters, a stance that may scupper the $9.4 billion deal.

The collapse of the deal, Asia’s second-biggest M&A transaction announced last year, would be a huge blow for HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (0005.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz). The bank said in December it stood to reap a post-tax gain of $2.6 billion from the sale that forms part of its plan to rid itself of non-core assets.

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Chinese state-owned insurer PICC Group is in talks with American International Group Inc (AIG.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and others to become cornerstone investors for its planned Hong Kong listing worth up to $4 billion, in what will be the city’s biggest IPO in two years.

PICC started meeting institutional investors in Hong Kong on Thursday to gauge demand for the initial public offering, braving a slump this year in equity deals.