Asean

Commerzbank has appointed former Royal Bank of Scotland banker David So to its Singapore-based debt origination team.

One of Asia’s most consistent sovereign issuers, the Republic of Indonesia, plans to come to the offshore bond market in the fourth quarter. It is considering offshore renminbi (CNH), dollars, euros or yen, for what would be its last outing this year.

Capital Markets Malaysia, an organisation backed by the country’s government and regulator, has appointed Azhar Zabidi as its chief executive officer.

Frankfurt-listed Snowbird, a Chinese down manufacturer, has cancelled plans to seek a secondary listing in Singapore, amid a wave of panic selling that has gripped stock markets this week.

Westpac has hired a former banker from Royal Bank of Scotland to bolster its Hong Kong-based debt capital markets business.

Green bond issuance in Asia has taken off this year after sluggish growth in the past, according to data by Dealogic.

The Republic of the Philippines is set to return to the offshore bond market as early as this year, as the sovereign hopes to take advantage of its rating upgrade.

Banks are processing approvals for a loan of around $300m to back the purchase of Ciro’s Plaza in Shanghai.

Construction firm Datem has filed for an up to Ps4.05bn ($87m) IPO, with the company eyeing a November listing on the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Tianjian state-owned Tianfang Hospitality Reit, which is looking to list in Singapore, is delaying its $200m-$250m IPO amid the current rocky market conditions and the deadly explosions in Tianjin port, said sources.

The governor of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), the country’s central bank, said on August 17 it was seeking an agreement with People’s Bank of China to become the fourteenth jurisdiction with a RMB qualified foreign institutional investor (RQFII) quota.

Vietnam is working fervently to open its markets, turning things up a notch in August by signing a landmark free trade agreement with the European Union. The country’s transformation from a nation ravaged by war to one of Asia’s biggest success stories is impressive, but more reforms are critical if it wants to have a real chance at becoming the next tiger economy. Rashmi Kumar reports.