BANKING & FINANCE SERVICES TO ASIA: In brief

Business Asia, Sept 30, 1999

* Hong Kong -- The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the city's de facto central bank, says it will make it easier for local banks to borrow money to deal with any financial shortfalls caused by the Y2K software bug. The plan expands the types of collateral banks can use to borrow money from the HKMA -- the lender of last resort for local banks -- increasing the amount of eligible collateral by 86 per cent to HK$184 billion (US$23.7 billion). -- Bloomberg

* Tokyo -- Japan's Finance Ministry says the country will relax rules on banks' ownership of non-financial companies to encourage them to convert debt into shares. Currently, the country's banking laws prohibit banks from owning 5 per cent or more of non-financial companies to prevent them from exerting too much influence on management. The change, which is expected to take effect from this month, will waive the 5 per cent restriction if the bank's equity ownership rises as a result of any debt-for-equity swap. -- Bloomberg

* Cebu City -- A merger plan for the Philippines' Equitable Bank and PCIBank has been approved by both the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), creating the country's second-largest bank in terms of total assets, the new company said. -- Asia Pulse