Asean

JPM expands China JV team — Natixis names Apac infra finance head — CLSA makes senior debt hires — BNP closes Manila offshore branch

The Philippine IPO market will receive a big boost in September as two companies prepare to launch their transactions after getting regulatory approval.

Switzerland-based UBS Group has priced its second Singapore dollar-denominated Basel III-compliant additional tier one (AT1) bond in just nine months, taking advantage of a rally in its deal from last November.

BNP Paribas has shut down its offshore banking unit in the Philippines, according to the country’s central bank.

DCM bankers in Asia have used a quiet August to prepare new bond deals for next month. But despite most bankers’ optimism that the coming weeks will be busy, many believe the second half of 2019 will be quiet compared with the same time last year as the market gets battered by volatility. Morgan Davis reports.

Louis Dreyfus Asia has boosted the size of its annual borrowing to $650m from $500m after receiving commitments from 31 lenders.

Freeport Indonesia, a mining company that was acquired by Asahan Aluminium (Inalum) last year, is in talks with 10 banks for a $3bn term loan for its capital expenditure.

Yanlord Land Group offered a welcome bit of supply in Asia’s otherwise tepid bond market this week, breaking the silence to raise $400m from just its third dollar deal in eight years.

Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) enjoyed a rare outing in the dollar bond market on Tuesday, nabbing $750m. Morgan Davis reports.

The Philippines’ Securities and Exchange Commission has given the greenlight to homeware store chain AllHome Corp to list on the local bourse for up to Ps20.7bn ($394.7m).

Thailand’s largest block trade in six years has seen Singaporean state-owned investment fund Temasek Holdings bagging more than $500m from a sale of Intouch Holdings stock. The vendor took advantage of a surge in the Intouch’s stock price and plans to return and clean up its remaining stake. Jonathan Breen reports.

Indonesian state owned pharmaceutical company Kimia Farma is planning to raise capital through a rights issue of new shares, according to a stock exchange filing.