PRE-MARKET JAPANESE AND SOUTH KOREAN STOCKS NEWS: Honda Motor (7267 JT) resurrects its engineering subsidiary

JAPAN

Mitsubishi Corporation (8058 JT) - Co. plans to soon start using JPMorgan Chase blockchain technology to send money worldwide, taking advantage of a service that allows for instant fund transfers. (Nikkei)

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306 JT) - Japan and MUFG Bank seek to encourage lending as an option to fund major movies by creating a common standard for financial institutions to evaluate a production's value, supporting the country's industry against hit-making competitors. (Nikkei)

Honda Motor (7267 JT) - Co.’s several thousand engineers handling automotive development will become employees of an R&D unit from Wednesday, as the automaker resurrects its storied engineering subsidiary in a bid to revive its innovative spirit and fight back against the rise of Chinese rivals. (Nikkei)

Other News

Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs will create a new office Wednesday to expand economic cooperation with India and support Japanese companies looking to expand into the world's most populous market. (Nikkei)

Japanese Finance Minister Katayama said she told the G7 Japan is watching FX with urgency, while she added that private credit and bond markets will be key topics at the April G7 meeting. Furthermore, she noted that rising oil prices could hurt growth and increase inflation, and noted that quite a few G7 central bank heads said they may have to focus on dealing with inflation fears.

Japanese government spokesperson said authorities are closely watching market volatility with an extremely high sense of urgency.

S&P affirmed Japan at A+/A-1; Outlook Stable.

SOUTH KOREA

E-mart (139480 KS) - Co. opened its first No Brand store in Bangkok as it pushes Korea retail expansion. (ChosunBiz)

Lotte Shopping (023530 KS) - Co.’s Lotte Mart will support young farmers and expand sales channels for eco-friendly agricultural products, while it signed a three-party memorandum of understanding to pursue the win-win project for farms, "Sangsaeng Seed." (ChosunBiz)

Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) - Co. will establish a global research centre in Japan. (Maeil)