MERITZ INTENDS TO INCREASE ITS BID FOR FIRST FIRE

South Korea's fifth largest non-life insurer Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance intends to up its offer for rival insurer First Fire & Marine. Its original offer has been rejected by First Fire's largest shareholder and a rival bid has been tabled by South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group. According to reports Meritz has said it now owns 4.11% of its rival, and intends to up its original Won86bn offer for the 20.68% stake in First Fire. Yonhap news agency has reported that Meritz hopes to take over First Fire as it prepares for the deregulation of the country's capital markets due in February next year, which it expects to bring increased competition. According to Yonhap, the regulatory revamp will remove restrictions separating the banking, futures and asset management sectors.