NAB buys in Hong Kong to tap Asia's rising wealth

HONG KONG - National Australia Bank, the country's third-biggest lender, said it bought Hong Kong-based Calibre Asset Management to bolster investment advisory and private and corporate banking operations in Asia.

National Australia didn't provide financial details.

The acquisition is its first in Hong Kong since selling its life insurance businesses in the city and in Indonesia to Axa Asia Pacific Holdings in February 2006. Calibre Asset is a closely held investment advisory firm.

Wealth among millionaires in Asia Pacific will grow faster than the global average as the region's economies outperform, according to a survey published last month by Cap Gemini and Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, Singapore's third-largest lender, last month agreed to buy ING Groep's private-banking assets in Asia for US$1.46 billion ($1.96 billion) in cash after beating out HSBC Holdings.

National Australia would focus on expanding in wealth management, corporate banking and lending to small to medium-sized businesses in Asia, Andrew Macintosh, Hong Kong-based general manager of banking, said.

The bank has 350 people in Asia, including about 200 in Hong Kong, Macintosh says. It has offices in Tokyo and Singapore and a representative office in Beijing.

- BLOOMBERG