Asean

Philippine oil refining company Petron Corp, which recently mandated seven banks for a $550m refinancing loan, has proposed an amendment related to a $475m facility it sealed in 2014.

The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) is said to have zeroed in on three lenders to arrange its financing of up to $300m.

The Lion City has been trying to develop a covered bond market for years but progress has been slow. That's mostly been down to the fact that its banks do not have first access to most of the mortgage loans they lend out. That privilege lies with the country’s pension fund, the Central Provident Fund (CPF).

Singapore can finally lay claim to a covered bond market after its largest bank, DBS, this week printed the country’s first deal in the asset class. The build-up was hardly plain sailing, but that did not stop DBS executing a very successful trade that will serve as a benchmark for its peers, writes Rev Hui.

Ezion Holdings chose an unusual structure for its most recent bond outing in Singapore dollars. The borrower sold a bond with the support of a loan facility from sole lead DBS, which allowed it to save around 300bp in funding costs.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC) is in the market for a $200m three year loan, making it the fifth lender from the Philippines to seek funds offshore this year. Two mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners are leading the syndication. The deal comes with a $100m greenshoe.

Ezion Holdings has opened books for a five year Singapore dollar bond offering, which is supported by a loan facility from DBS, the first time such a structure has been seen in the city state.

It has been mooted for years but investors are finally getting their first taste of covered bonds out of Singapore with the Lion City’s largest bank DBS opening books to a dollar offering on July 29.

BNP Paribas has named a new head of country for Vietnam and chief executive officer of its Ho Chi Minh City branch.

Vietnam’s Sacombank has completed an overseas fundraising of $50m, with a group of five lenders supplying the funds. The loan comes close on the heels of a borrowing by Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) that is now in its final leg. An overall lull in the syndicated loan market this year has driven banks to look beyond larger southeast Asian economies for business.

Sri Rejeki Isman (SriTex) is seeking to return to the dollar bond market for up to $420m in the second half of the year.

Malaysia’s Ranhill Group, which was forced to shelve an MR753m ($197m) IPO in 2013, will be making a comeback after the reverse takeover of its power and water assets received the approval of the regulators, paving the way for a MR660m deal.