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Mergers and acquisitions in e-business differ a little from their old economy counterparts. The youthful dot.coms are unlikely to experience the pain of company pride being roughly cast aside in the interests of the newly formed entity. There are also likely to be fewer employees to painstakingly placate and reprogramme. Then again, redundancies will always sour proceedings. Sohu.com, one of China's top three internet portals, is one such example. It merged with ChinaRen.com in October last year in a bid to broaden its capabilities – ChinaRen having built a strong reputation based on the popularity of its chatrooms. However, come December, Sohu announced its intention to cut its staff by 126 to 515. And analysts suggest further redundancies may be required if the company is to ensure its well being.

The market has yet to appreciate the real clout of a financial secretary with the ear of his boss. Media spotlight on the popular departing chief secretary and her successor has overshadowed the crucial role of the incoming former banker, says Pauline Loong.

The market has yet to appreciate the real clout of a financial secretary with the ear of his boss. Media spotlight on the popular departing chief secretary and her successor has overshadowed the crucial role of the incoming former banker, says Pauline Loong.

It was the largest IPO in the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE)'s history; the biggest slap in the face for Renong chairman Halim Saad; the most embarrassing episode for Commerce International Merchant Bankers (CIMB). The superlatives abound in the case of the IPO of TimedotCom, Time Engineering's telecoms arm, which in February issued 175 million shares at RM3.30 (US$0.86) each, and offered for sale 397 million shares owned by the parent. Designed to raise RM1.89 billion (US$497.4 million), the IPO was only 25% subscribed. Renong-controlled CIMB was the advisor, managing underwriter and joint lead underwriter. Not a happy moment for CEO Nazir Razak? Well, though CIMB's shares did fall, the paper is thought widely dispersed among the other underwriters, including all major local names. "The outcome was widely expected," says a local analyst. "The talk is that most of this paper has already been taken up by government-linked institutions. All this will emerge over the next few weeks."

On paper the Hong Kong economy is experiencing a period of growth but the feel good factor is still missing. Pauline Loong talks to the territory's analysts about the impact of the US economy on local performance.

On paper the Hong Kong economy is experiencing a period of growth but the feel good factor is still missing. Pauline Loong talks to the territory's analysts about the impact of the US economy on local performance.

Priceline.com, the company that gave the world the unforgiveable image of William Shatner singing Freebird in its US ads, announced a new and welcome pair of investors in February. Hutchison Whampoa and Cheung Kong, the twin arms of Li Ka-Shing's all-conquering empire, invested US$50 million in the US-based internet company famed for allowing its customers to name their own price for goods and services. This is not the first venture between Li and Jay Walker, the founder of priceline.com: Hutch already has a joint venture with the US company in Asia. The acquisition of 24 million shares at US$2.10 per share gives Hutchison a seat on the priceline.com board, to be assumed by Ian Wade, group managing director of Hutch's AS Watson group. Hutch has also increased its interest in Hutchison-Priceline, the Asian venture, to 65%.

A spate of recent mergers shows that India's financial sector is embracing M&A. That's good news, because the sector needs reform. The introduction of voluntary retirement schemes should smooth the way forward. By Saibal Dasgupta.

The 2000 year-end was a flurry of MBS activity in Australia. Investors hardly had time to develop their Christmas holiday snaps before National Australia Bank set a new benchmark for Australian originators with the launch of its global RMBS. Hard on its heels were three further term securitization issues each sporting an enticing new asset class. Mark B Johnson reviews the increasingly diverse world of Australian structured finance.

Australia's debt capital market is the most sophisticated in the region, and the potential is there for it to grow – but where is the supply going to come from? By Chris Wright

China is the latest country to want to launch a second board to supplement its main stock exchanges. It has a lot of advantages in doing so – particularly the huge potential size of its market. But success will depend on prudent regulation and education of investors. By Joy Lee

Mergers and acquisitions in e-business differ a little from their old economy counterparts. The youthful dot.coms are unlikely to experience the pain of company pride being roughly cast aside in the interests of the newly formed entity. There are also likely to be fewer employees to painstakingly placate and reprogramme. Then again, redundancies will always sour proceedings. Sohu.com, one of China's top three internet portals, is one such example. It merged with ChinaRen.com in October last year in a bid to broaden its capabilities – ChinaRen having built a strong reputation based on the popularity of its chatrooms. However, come December, Sohu announced its intention to cut its staff by 126 to 515. And analysts suggest further redundancies may be required if the company is to ensure its well being.