Asia Pacific

Lyndon Chao has been announced as the new head of equities at the Asia Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association (Asifma), replacing Nicholas Ronalds.

Ford Automotive Finance (China) has pulled off an impressive return to China’s auto ABS market. The company raised an eye-catching Rmb3.46bn ($518.4m) from its latest deal — and brought in the first crop of foreign investors tapping Chinese ABS through Bond Connect.

Srei Infrastructure Finance plans to list its equipment financing arm in India to raise about Rp20bn ($312m), amid the country’s push for infrastructure investments.

Cathay United Bank has invited lenders for meetings in Laos during the first week of September, as it prepares to launch three different loans from the country.

Zhongtai Securities Co priced its first international bond on Thursday, finding a narrow window to bag $300m before markets turned volatile once again.

Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS), which successfully tapped the fledgling Masala loan market for a Rp3.4bn ($53m) deal last year, has returned to the offshore market. But this time around, it opted for a dollar deal.

JP Morgan has appointed a vice-chairwoman of global investment banking (GIB) for China as it continues to grow in the market.

Indian lender IndusInd Bank has closed syndication for a $300m three year loan, with allocations likely to be out early next week.

Barclays is rebuilding its franchise in Asia Pacific with three senior hires focusing on the China and Japan markets, according to a memo seen by GlobalCapital Asia.

The pipeline for additional tier one issuance from Chinese banks is building up unabated, with Bank of Jinzhou receiving approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission to raise up to Rmb10bn ($1.5bn).

The State Council publishes a series of policies to attract foreign investment, a People’s Bank of China (PBoC) advisor said China will unlikely follow the Federal Reserve in hiking rates this year, and the Ministry of Commerce (MofCom) criticises an US investigation into intellectual property rights in China.

Cairn India Holdings, which signed up new lenders for a $651m borrowing in late July, has received commitments from two more banks.