PRESS DIGEST-Financial Times, Wall St Journal Asia editions

SINGAPORE, Aug 18 (Reuters) - The Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal carried the following stories in their Asia print and/or Web site editions on Monday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

FINANCIAL TIMES (www.ft.com)

-- Western leaders formed a united front on Sunday as they increased pressure on Russia to live up to its pledge to withdraw from Georgian territory in accordance with a ceasefire signed at the weekend.

-- Battered US financial groups will have to refinance billions of dollars in maturing debt over the coming months, a move likely to push banks' funding costs higher and curb their profitability, say bankers and analysts.

-- Morgan Stanley (MS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is responding to the credit crisis with a system that uses the market's view of its own creditworthiness as a basis for lending decisions, according to people familiar with the matter.

-- Royal Group, a Cambodian conglomerate whose interests range from banking to mobile telephony, is raising $2 billion from private investors, together with Hong Kong-based Millennium Group, to develop Koh Rong, an island off Sihanoukville, Cambodia's only deep-water port.

WALL STREET JOURNAL (www.wsj.com)

-- A sharp drop in commodity prices is raising hopes that inflation is peaking in many parts of the developing world, especially in Asia, providing welcome relief for the fragile global economy.

-- The U.S. dollar's continued advance could ease inflationary pressures but also risks slowing a U.S. export boom and add to earnings pressure on multinationals like GE (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research).