Asean

The Singapore dollar market is welcomed another new participant this week as French lender BNP Paribas launched its a debut tier two trade at an attractive level

United Overseas Bank in Singapore came one step closer to issuing the country’s second covered bond when it published an offering circular on Monday.

The investment banking arm of RHB Banking Group is tweaking its strategy to boost its presence outside Malaysia, and plans to build on its transaction and commercial banking relationships to win market share. Rashmi Kumar reports.

OCBC has hired David Cheng from Deutsche Bank to be head of corporate finance. He will run the Singapore bank’s equity capital markets, M&A and equity syndication teams.

Saka Energi Indonesia, a subsidiary of Perusahaan Gas Negara, has hit the market for a financing of up to $600m and is giving banks the option of booking the loan onshore or offshore.

Bank of Qingdao priced its HK$4.7bn ($606.5m) IPO at the bottom of guidance on November 25, leaning on a heavy cornerstone tranche and investors from Hong Kong and China to get over the finish line.

The Singapore dollar bond market saw some action on November 26 with Korea Development Bank (KDB) selling a deal in the Lion City.

Two of the pre-IPO investors in Malaysia’s Malakoff Corp have divested their entire residual stake via a MR444m ($105m) block, with the deal buoyed by local demand and strong interest from one domestic pension fund.

Thailand's Precious Shipping Public Company (PSL) is looking to make its maiden foray into the offshore bond market with a Singapore dollar deal early next year.

San Miguel Corp, which is looking to set up a new mobile network joint venture in the Philippines, is seeking as much as $1.1bn for it, via a combination of onshore and offshore loans.

Indonesian miner Berau Coal Energy is conducting a tender offer to buy back its two outstanding dollar bonds, the company announced on November 24.

The Singapore covered bond market could soon be welcoming a second participant after United Overseas Bank announced a $8bn global covered bond programme this week.