Asean

The Republic of Indonesia has chosen five banks to work on a dollar sukuk to be sold in the first quarter of the year.

Nehchal Khanna, a managing director at Morgan Stanley’s investment bank, is leaving the firm.

Thin deals volume from Indonesia last year is expected to continue into 2016 because of pressure on commodities and unfavourable swap rates. But there might be some respite on the way when it comes to pricing loans for state-owned companies, writes Shruti Chaturvedi.

Lorna Greene, a former Commerzbank banker, has resurfaced as a member of National Australia Bank’s Asia DCM team.

Philippine homebuilder Vista Land & Lifescapes opted to tap its outstanding bond rather than sell a new deal on Wednesday due to challenging market conditions. Although pricing wasn’t as tight as expected, offshore investors were still keen due to its scarcity value and a lack of other primary supply.

The Taiwan Stock Exchange and Singapore Exchange have cemented a strategic partnership that will allow Taiwanese brokers to directly trade Singapore-listed securities.

The Asian market finally saw some signs of activity on Wednesday with China Development Bank and Vista Land & Landscapes opening taps for their respective dollar bonds.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has published a substantially revised set of data on Singapore’s RMB deposit pool, showing RMB liquidity was lower by as much as 27% than previously stated.

Indonesian oil and gas company Pertamina, which reset covenants on a 2015 loan, is speaking to relationship banks for a new borrowing. But its operations in the beleaguered upstream oil and gas sector could make it difficult to negotiate lower pricing, reckon bankers.

RBS's former head of Asia Pacific loan markets, Aditya Agarwal, joined Maybank on Monday as the regional head of loan syndication, according to sources.

Lippo Karawaci has announced the minimum yield for a new dollar-denominated senior offering due 2023, as it aims to switch holders out of a 2019 bond into a longer four year deal.

Thailand’s Ministry of Finance has given approval to four foreign institutions to issue baht-denominated bonds by September 30.