Lagging Japanese equity market proves challenging for Asia Pacific inc Japan funds
AIA's chief executive has told friends and industry executives he would quit if the UK's Prudential succeeded in its $35.5bn (£24.6bn) takeover of group's Asian arm.
London's leading shares are showing slight gains this morning as a late recovery on Wall Street boosts investor sentiment.
Prudential is planning a secondary listing on the Singapore Stock Exchange in addition to its dual primary listing in Hong Kong.
Jeffrey Lum has almost doubled technology exposure in the Marlborough Far East Growth fund over the first quarter of the year.
Optimism on the economic recovery led by US retail data from March led most Asian stocks to gain slightly on Friday.
New data on US consumer credit from the Federal Reserve revealed a downturn in February and added to the downward pressure on the Asian stock markets on Thursday.