Aug. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Asian financial stocks fell after Australian mortgage lender Rams Home Loans Group Ltd. said ``unprecedented disruptions'' in credit markets may reduce its profit.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan's largest bank, slid to the lowest in almost two years after U.S. subprime lender Aegis Mortgage Corp. filed for bankruptcy. Rams plunged 19 percent, the biggest loss since its initial share offering last month.

``The uncertainty created by the credit issue and what scenarios are going to occur has made people panic,'' said Paul Xiradis, who manages about $8.3 billion in Australian stocks at Ausbil Dexia Ltd. in Sydney.

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., and Samsung Heavy Industries Co., the world's biggest shipbuilders, plunged as investors took advantage of their sharp rises this year. China's CSI 300 Index rose 1.6 percent to a record after Chinese retail sales grew at the fastest pace in three years.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index declined 0.2 percent to 149.05 at 7:31 p.m. in Tokyo. About five stocks fell for every three that advanced. The MSCI Asia-Pacific Financials Index dropped 0.8 percent, the second-biggest drag on the benchmark. South Korea's Kospi index slid 1.7 percent.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 0.3 percent to 16,844.61. Mitsui & Co. led Japanese trading companies higher as investors judged recent losses excessive. All other markets dropped, except Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. Pakistan was closed for a holiday.

Mitsubishi UFJ

In the U.S., Standard & Poor's 500 futures rose 0.3 percent. The S&P 500 Index slipped 0.1 percent yesterday after Aegis Mortgage filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Financial shares closed lower, following earlier gains after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said its partnering with two investment groups to add $3 billion to one of its hedge funds.

Mitsubishi UFJ lost 1.7 percent to 1.14 million yen, the lowest close since September 2005. Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., Australia's third-largest financial-services company, dropped 1.4 percent to A$28.20.

Rams plunged 19 percent to A$1.41 after it said today yield spreads on its A$6.2 billion in U.S. commercial loans were higher than forecast and impact on 2008 profit ``is likely to be material.'' The Sydney-based company, which has A$14.2 billion of loans, said it had no investments in the U.S. subprime mortgages market.

Time to Digest

The MSCI financials index has lost 8.4 percent in the past month, the worst performance on the broader measure after energy shares.

``It'll be a while before the market fully digests the effects of the subprime problem, which is why banks and financials are still being sold,'' said Hiroyoshi Nakagawa, who helps look after about $1 billion in Asian equities at Societe Generale Asset Management Co. in Tokyo.

Hyundai Heavy, the world's largest shipbuilder, fell 1.4 percent to 319,000 won, after sliding as much as 4.3 percent. Samsung Heavy, the second biggest, dropped 4.3 percent to 44,700 won. Shares of both companies have doubled this year. South Korea's market is closed tomorrow.

``Investors are taking profit ahead of the holiday tomorrow to reduce exposure to volatility, because there's bad news coming out every day about the subprime issue,'' said Kim Jae Dong, who oversees $5.4 billion at Korea Investment Trust Management Co. in Seoul. ``The stocks that led the market's gain are falling with equal intensity.''

PT Agis, Indonesia's biggest electronic goods retailer, tumbled 49 percent to 1,175 rupiah on resuming trading following a more than six-week suspension, as investors judged its gain this year to be excessive. The stock, suspended since June 28, had risen 10-fold this year to June 27, fueled partly by the company's acquisition plans.

Retail Sales

In China, Youngor Group Co., the country's No. 1 maker of men's clothing by sales, climbed 8.1 percent to 30.45 yuan. Tsingtao Brewery Co., part-owned by Anheuser-Busch Cos., gained 1.9 percent to 27.77 yuan.

China's retail sales climbed 16.4 percent to 699.8 billion yuan ($92 billion) in July from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said today. That beat the 16.2 percent median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Mitsui & Co., the largest Japanese trading house, climbed 4.4 percent to 2,350 yen. Itochu Corp., a trading company that reported a 79 percent increase in first quarter net income, jumped 6.9 percent to 1,323 yen. Mitsui had lost 20 percent this month before today while Itochu had fallen 18 percent.

``Investors have a chance to buy companies with strong earnings results and overly conservative forecasts that are now becoming cheaper as the market corrects,'' Kenji Shiomura, a manager at Daiwa Securities Group Inc., wrote in a note dated yesterday.

Taiwan, Hong Kong

In Taiwan, the Taipei District Court today acquitted Ma Ying-jeou, the opposition Kuomintang's presidential candidate, of fraud charges that could have derailed his campaign.

China Television Co., founded by the Kuomintang, jumped by the daily limit minutes after the court announcement. The stock rose 3.2 percent to NT$19.40. Yuanta Financial Holding Co., Taiwan's largest stock broker, gained 4 percent to NT$19.55. The Kuomintang owns a stake in the broker.

Ping An Insurance (Group) Co., China's No. 2 insurer, gained 2.5 percent to HK$63.75 in Hong Kong. UBS AG raised its recommendation on the stock to ``buy'' from ``neutral'' and lifted its price forecast to HK$71.90 from HK$67.90.

Sally Ng, an analyst at the brokerage, cited recent price declines and the company's ``premium management, foresightful strategy, and strong execution,'' in a research note today.

PT Agis (TMPI IJ)
Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ AU)
China Television Co. (9928 TT)
Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. (009540 KS)
Itochu Corp. (8001 JT)
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (8306 JT)
Mitsui & Co. (8031 JT)
Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. (2318 HK)
Samsung Heavy Industries Co. (010140 KS)
Tsingtao Brewery Co. (600600 CH)
Youngor Group Co. (600177 CH)
Yuanta Financial Holding Co. (2885 TT)

To contact the reporter for this story: Chen Shiyin in Singapore at schen37@bloomberg.net;

Last Updated: August 14, 2007 06:34 EDT