10 Quotes All Entrepreneurs Should Memorize

  1. "What does not destroy me, makes me stronger." – Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844-1900
  2. "Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance." Samuel Johnson 1709-84.
  3. "Sweet are the uses of adversity." – William Shakespeare, 1564-1616
  4. "When it’s darkest, men see the stars." – Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882
  5. "Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom." – General George S. Patton, 1885-1945
  6. "When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water." – Benjamin Franklin, 1706-1790
  7. "A certain amount of opposition is a great help to a man. Kites rise against, not with the wind." – John Neal, 1793-1876
  8. "Success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm." – Anon
  9. "He knows not his own strength that hath not met adversity." – Ben Jonson, c. 1573-1637
  10. "Life is not always a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes playing a poor hand well." – Jack London, undated

Bank ownership limits in selected Asian countries


(Reuters) - Here is a factbox on bank ownership limits in various Asian countries.

VIETNAM

Vietnam caps foreign ownership in a domestic bank at 30 percent with a 15 percent limit for a strategic investor (can be increased to 20 percent with PM approval). A foreign bank (non-strategic) can own 10 percent and a non-bank investor that is not a strategic investor can own 5 percent.

CHINA

China limits the share of a single foreign investor in a Chinese bank to 20 percent, and will treat the entire bank as foreign if more than 25 percent is in non-Chinese hands. This has sparked complaints from other countries who said China did not agree limits on foreign ownership when it joined the World Trade Organisation in 2001.

MALAYSIA

Malaysia caps foreign ownership of local banks at 30 percent. However, the government has recently stated that it may be willing to review this and allow foreign investors to own up to 49 percent.

INDONESIA

Allows foreign entities to hold up to 99 percent of local banks. Any single entity trying to own 25 percent or more of the total shares needs approval from the central bank.

THAILAND

Foreign banks can own up to 25 percent of a Thai bank before seeking approval from the Bank of Thailand. Owning between 25 and 49 percent requires approval from the BoT and anything beyond that is subject to approval by the Ministry of Finance.

A single investor must also receive approval from the Bank of Thailand if their shareholding exceeds 10 percent of a local bank.

INDIA

Foreign ownership of India's private sector banks is not allowed to exceed 74 percent of paid-up capital with individual foreign institutional investors' holding capped at 10 percent.
Foreign banks operating in the country must presently be run as a branch of their headquarters. However, the Reserve Bank of India is considering allowing them to operate as wholly-owned subsidiaries.

PAKISTAN

Pakistan limits foreign ownership of locally incorporated banks to 49 percent. Foreign banks whose tier-one capital exceeds $5 billion can operate branches or wholly owned local subsidiaries.

AUSTRALIA

There are no ownership restrictions in Australia, but the government has a "Four Pillar" policy in place under which the top four banks are barred merging or taking over the other. This is aimed at maintaining competition.

TAIWAN

Foreign banks and private equity funds are allowed to own up to 100 percent of local banks. But Chinese mainland banks are not allowed to buy more than 5 percent of domestic banks.

JAPAN

There is no foreign ownership restriction in Japan. Foreign banks, private equity and corporations can buy 100 percent of domestic banks, subject to regulations and government approval.

SINGAPORE

A single shareholder requires permission of the minister in charge of the central bank to increase shareholdings in a local bank at 5 percent, 12 percent and 20 percent thresholds. So if the government allows, foreign banks or other entities can own 100 percent of a Singaporean bank.

SOUTH KOREA

Under local banking law, a financial player is allowed to hold up to 10 percent stake in a bank without approval and can become the majority stakeholder in a bank, while a non-financial player must not own over 9 percent. There isn't any specific limit imposed on foreigners in holding stakes in banks.

(Reporting by Rachel Armstrong, Saeed Azhar, Taiga Uranaka, Rachel Lee, Narayanan Somasundaram and Denny Thomas; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)