(Updated at 0936 GMT)

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Russia's Medvedev says Ukraine joining NATO would mean war

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Poll: India to stick to budget targets despite election

rebuke

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Trump's Taiwan comments weigh on TSMC shares

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Hong Kong posts record home purchases, realtor says

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Stocks down 0.2%, FX up 0.1%

By Johann M Cherian

July 17 (Reuters) - Equities of most emerging markets

slipped on Wednesday, with China's Communist Party's major

policy meeting nearing its conclusion, while investors monitored

developments in Kenya and mulled the implications of a corporate

tax bill in Turkey.

MSCI's index tracking bourses in developing economies

slipped 0.2%, while a currencies gauge

was little changed.

China's main stock indexes closed flat and

lower, respectively, with the ruling Communist Party's so-called

'Third plenum' underway, post which markets anticipate reforms

to support the embattled top economy.

Hong Kong equities ended flat, though the property

index rose 1.3% after a realtor agency said the region

saw record home purchases by mainland Chinese buyers in the

first six months after the financial hub removed all buying

curbs.

Taiwan's main stock index slid nearly 1%, weighed by

chipmaker TSMC, after U.S. presidential candidate

Donald Trump said the country should pay the United States for

its defence, as per a report. The tech giant is expected to

deliver quarterly results on Thursday.

Speaking on how a second Trump presidency could impact

interest in developing economies, Clementine Wallop, director,

Sub-Saharan Africa at Horizon Engage, said it would be sector

specific, where some sectors such as fossil fuels could benefit,

while investors in others such as green energy might not see it

as a boon.

Romanian equities edged up 0.2%. Prime Minister

Marcel Ciolacu told small business owners the country cannot

afford to raise taxes in 2025 and should focus on curbing tax

evasion to rein in its budget deficit. Romania's budget deficit

stands above European Union's ceiling of 3%.

Turkish main stock index lost 0.6%, while banks

dropped nearly 2%, with focus on a bill that would

impose a minimum corporate tax on large multi-nationals.

In south Asia, a Reuters poll of economists showed the

Indian government remains committed to upholding pre-election

borrowing and spending targets in the July 23 budget, despite

the ruling party losing its majority vote in recent elections.

Indian equity markets were closed on account of a holiday.

Elsewhere, Kenya's shilling slipped 0.6%, with

attention on recent anti-government protests, where

demonstrators called for President William Ruto's resignation.

"The protests that we're seeing in Kenya... could be

something that becomes more widespread as citizens express their

discontent for being squeezed for what they perceive as

government failure," Wallop added.

Ukraine's hryvnia depreciated nearly 1.2% to a record

low. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the accession

of the country to the U.S.-led North Atlantic Treaty

Organisation (NATO) would be a declaration of war against

Moscow. Russia refers to its conflict with Ukraine as a "special

military operation".