Asean

Saka Energi Indonesia, the upstream oil and gas arm of state-owned Perusahaan Gas Negara, has signed its $600m loan, finding demand from seven lenders in syndication.

The Securities Commission Malaysia is getting a new deputy chief executive, with Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidin to step into the role at the start of April.

Ranhill Holdings has finally sealed its IPO of MR386.78m ($93.76m) at the bottom of the range after delaying the pricing decision from Tuesday and dropping the secondary offering.

In this round-up: Hong Kong cross-border trade settlement fell again at the start of the year, RMB deposits were steady in Hong Kong but falling in Singapore, Brics New Development Bank will set up in Shanghai, and PBoC said a swap line with Bank of Russia had been activated. Plus, a recap of our top stories this week.

Ford Motor Credit Company made its debut in the Singapore dollar bond market this week with a S$350m ($251m) transaction that investors were more than happy to put their money into.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has flagged up issues about banks’ credit underwriting practices, including cases of covenant waivers and one off-credit exceptions given to borrowers. But while the central banks’ concerns are valid, bankers reckon lenders are being more than careful about their syndications business. Shruti Chaturvedi reports.

Malaysia-listed WCT Holdings is looking to spin off its property into a real estate investment trust and list its construction arm, with both IPOs likely to come to the market next year.

Malaysian telecommunications company Axiata Group has mandated three banks for a quick return to the Islamic bond market.

A rarely seen product is set to return to the Asian securitization market with fixed income specialist SC Lowy and UOB Asset Management (UOBAM) gearing up for a $400m collateralized loan obligation (CLO). The transaction will be the first non-bank originated Asian CLO in years, but the structured finance community is sceptical about the market’s potential, writes Rev Hui.

The Singapore Exchange (SGX) has been one of Asia’s most proactive bourses in finding ways to improve its business, but some market participants are worried that it is out of touch. Chew Sutat, SGX’s head of equities and fixed income, told GlobalCapital Asia that there is a gap between perception and reality. John Loh reports.

Malaysia’s CIMB has named Kong Sooi Lin as CEO of its investment bank, a role she had covered since the group chief executive left the position earlier this year.

United Overseas Bank sold a landmark transaction this week, printing the first euro-denominated covered bond from Asia, and plans to become a frequent issuer in the market.