CORPORATE ASIA SNAPSHOT-Picking up but slowly, cautiously

July 3 (Reuters) - The mood at Asian banks is improving,
though with a heavy dose of caution, while across the region
there are signs of life in both IPOs and cross-border mergers
and acquisitions.

Ahead of April-June quarterly earnings reports, Reuters
Asia specialist correspondents in the financial, autos,
resources and technology sectors offer their insight on current
trends.

Double-click in [brackets] for related news.

[E-ASIA-RES-NEWS-LEN] Top Asian company earnings news

[E-ASIA-RES-LEN] for all Asia company earnings news

[E-ASIA-LEN-RESF] for Asia company earnings previews

FINANCIAL [ASIA-RTRS-E-LEN-FIN-BNK-NEWS]

REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL ... KIND OF

Mega-IPOs, big fee generators for banks, are making a
comeback in Asia, with bankers pitching for multi-billion
dollar offerings from companies such as insurer AIA (AIG.N) and
China Minsheng Banking Corp Ltd (600016.SS), as well as other
big IPOs seen in China since a ban on offerings has been
lifted.

Asian bonds and bank loans are also on the upswing, though
being issued to select, high-credit names, such as Hong Kong
property developer Henderson Land Development Co Ltd (0012.HK).

Cross-border Asia M&A deals are resurfacing, led by China's
continued appetite for natural resources abroad (see Sinopec
below), and private equity activity is returning, too, helped
by the willingness of certain banks and sellers to offer
acquisition financing.

With Asia-Pacific banking activity picking up in the second
quarter, the mood at banks is improving, even though there is
some way to go to return to year-ago bull market levels. That
said, Asia's declines in Equity Capital Markets (ECM) and M&A
are less pronounced than in the United States and Europe.

Michael Flaherty (michael.flaherty@thomsonreuters.com) >
Dealmakers raise money in capital mkts, M&A off [ID:nN25291870]
> Deutsche tops Asia ex-Japan H1 M&A table
[ID:nHKG259375] > Global IPO market awakens, secondaries surge
[ID:nN2392184]

AUTOS [E-ASIA-AUT-NEWS-RTRS-LEN]

ELECTRIC CARS, HYBRIDS AND BATTERIES

Markets are super-sensitive to news on hybrid cars,
electric vehicles and the batteries that power them, and
investors will be looking for developments in these areas at
auto and parts makers.

With more than a year's worth of orders, Toyota Motor's
(7203.T) new Prius hybrid is likely to top Japan's best-selling
charts again in June (model-based sales data is due on Monday),
but analysts worry Prius sales may be cannibalising those of
other Toyota models. They also say the new Prius is less
profitable than comparable gasoline-engine Toyota cars.

Nissan Motor (7201.T) is due to brief on its latest
technological advances late this month, ahead of the
much-awaited unveiling on Aug. 2 of its brand-new electric car
-- a five-seater model that it says is the world's first
mass-produced zero-emission vehicle.

Chang-Ran Kim (ran.kim@thomsonreuters.com) > Toyota, Nissan
vow to do better, green cars key [ID:nT125047] > Nissan sees
big U.S. electric car output by 2012 [ID:nT97678] > Honda
counts on engine power in a hybrid world [ID:nT53656] >
Toyota to ramp up Prius output, denies Nummi plan [ID:nT9185]
> Auto industry in turmoil
[ID:nCARS1]

RESOURCES [ASIA-LEN-RTRS-MTL-NEWS]

CHINA SIGNALS SHIFT ON IRON ORE PRICING

China's manoeuvres -- from testy iron ore negotiations to
outbound energy M&A -- will continue to dominate Asia's
resources markets in the near-term.

China's steel industry has signalled it may shift to
twice-a-year iron ore price setting after annual talks with
miners dragged on beyond a June 30 deadline. China had rejected
a 33 percent price cut that Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) (RIO.L) agreed
with Japanese and South Korean mills, but got short shrift on
its demand for a 40-45 percent cut.

Setting prices biannually could help China's mills, such as
Baosteel (600019.SS), avoid the volatility of life on the spot
market -- where they could have been paying more for their iron
ore supplies than their Japanese and Korean rivals.

On the M&A front, Sinopec's (0386.HK) (SNP.N) (600028.SS)
$7.2 billion buyout deal with Africa and Iraq-focused Addax
Petroleum (AXC.TO) proves China can clinch overseas resource
assets, particularly in parts of the world where there is less
of a political axe to grind.

More near-term deals are percolating. CNOOC (0883.HK)
tapped Goldman Sachs to advise it on a bid for the Ghana-based
assets of Kosmos Energy. Chinalco could conceivably step in and
bid for Anglo American Plc (AAL.L) which has rebuffed an
initial approach from Xstrata (XTA.L)

Joseph Chaney (joseph.chaney@thomsonreuters.com) > China's
bet on spot iron ore makes steel puzzle [ID:nSEO357738] > China
cedes ground to save iron ore deals [ID:nSP480484] >
China steel champion needs a neat trick, fast [ID:nPEK185551]
> Sinopec to buy Addax for $7.2 billion
[ID:nBNG477261]

TECH [RTRS-LEN-E-NEWS-TEL-ASIA]

SMARTPHONES WINNING HEARTS, MINDS ... AND PORTABLE SPACE

Smartphones look to be getting the upper hand over netbook
computers in the battle for the portable computing space,
drawing on a new generation of innovative operating systems
that delight both consumers and software developers.

Industry leaders Palm Inc (PALM.O), Apple (AAPL.O) and
Research in Motion (RIM.TO) have all launched new smartphones
to strong reviews in recent months, helped by their jazzy
operating systems, many based on touchscreen technology.

Google's (GOOG.O) Android system, open to all cellphone
makers, has added more buzz to the mix, with a growing number
of unaffiliated handset makers adopting that platform. By
comparison, makers of netbooks, the highly portable notebook
computers optimised for Internet use, rely on the stodgier
Windows (MSFT.O) or Linux systems for most of their models. >
S.Korean makers in race for smartphone prize [ID:nSEO183576]
> Samsung, Nokia heat up smartphone contest
[ID:nLF811351] > Smartphones edging netbooks for mobile surfers
[ID:nTP30434] > Top tech firms attend Taiwan's Computex
[ID:nTP142041]
(Editing by Ian Geoghegan and Jean Yoon)