The multiplying challenges of managing ANZ's ambitions for expansion in Asia were sketched out in a presentation yesterday to coincide with a tour by management and select investment analysts of the bank's operations in Singapore and Jakarta.ANZ even dug up a few nuggets of data on its costs, profits and productivity in the region in an effort to sell the merit of strategic goals and their ability to generate between 25 per cent and 30 per cent of earnings from the region and turn ANZ into a "top four international bank" in Asia.At present, ANZ counts as a top four international bank in two markets, Indonesia and the "greater Mekong" (mainly Vietnam), though the bank's market share is dwarfed in these markets by domestic banks - a group of competitors that rated not a single mention in the 118-page pack released yesterday by the bank.HSBC, Citi and Standard Chartered are the banks whose revenue and profit pools ANZ is chasing, though the chasing pack includes Deutsche and DBS, along with a clutch of other Asian banks with business plans similar to those of the Australian challenger.At ANZ itself, Asia is part of a geographic entity that includes Europe and the Americas, and one theme of yesterday's presentation was an emphasis on the significance of dealing with globally active companies likely to be headquartered outside Asia but with abundant banking needs in the region.Amid a dense document, a few highlights stand out:-- Return on equity in APEA (Asia-Pacific, Europe and America) and not just Asia was 10.5 per cent in the March 2012 half, up from 9.4 per cent in the September 2011. In retail banking the ROE was 12.3 per cent; in the minority bank investments (what the bank calls "partnerships") it was 11.4 per cent; and in institutional banking the ROE was 15.1 per cent. ANZ alluded to these returns in the investor briefing for the half-year six weeks ago but has now provided more detail.-- Within the institutional business in Asia, the ROE in transaction banking is 28.5 per cent and a consistent profit earner. The ROE in global markets was 23.8 per cent, more than double that of the prior half (and was affected by the early phases of the revival of market unease over European sovereigns and banks).-- The ROE in global loans was 12.5 per cent in the March half, down from 13.9 per cent in the prior half, despite lower impairments - a sliver of data that might hint at low spreads (that is, discounting) on loans.-- The bank presented an alternative view of the profit in the March half from the partnerships' business that ignores the write-down on one investment in Vietnam. According to this view, the profit was US$165 million from partnerships, $40 million more than reported.-- There are glimpses of the bank's recent progress in lifting productivity. Transactions per employee increased 11 per cent over the past year in Singapore and Hong Kong, the bank said, while the operations cost per