Asia Pacific

United Overseas Bank this week became the first issuer to price covered bonds simultaneously in euros and dollars, helping it to attract new, especially Asian, investors.

The spate of Reverse Yankee will grow on Friday with Avery Dennison Corporation expected with an eight year euro transaction.

Sri Lanka has picked a consortium of six banks for a $1bn borrowing, just months after wrapping up its last loan. A pick up in sentiment around the country and its reliable track record means the latest deal will do well in syndication, with heightened interest from India providing additional momentum. Shruti Chaturvedi reports.

The Asian block market came to life this month as shareholders jumped at the chance to offload some of their holdings in companies, taking advantage of a rally in the stock market. With a tight window remaining before firms head into blackout period ahead of results season, ECM bankers and investors are set for more deals this quarter. Jonathan Breen and John Loh report.

Industrial Bank of Korea is looking to offload its entire stake in local hypermarket chain E-Mart to raise up to W195.9bn ($172.1m).

HSBC has made some high profile appointments to its commercial banking teams in Hong Kong and Mainland China, according to an announcement on Thursday.

The world of banking can be rather funny, as my friend recently found out when faced with an unusual situation. After months of fruitless efforts, he finally had a big loan on his hands but had no way to show it off without coming off as insensitive.

Investors ate up China Jinmao Holdings Group’s new five year notes this week, allowing it to secure tight pricing for a four-times subscribed $500m deal.

The Singapore dollar bank capital market welcomed Commerzbank’s inaugural Basel III tier two bond this week, allowing it to price through fair value.

ONGC Videsh (OVL), the overseas investment arm of Indian state-owned oil company ONGC, is tapping the loan market for longer dated debt to replace a bridge raised by one of its subsidiaries.

China Reading, the e-book publisher backed by Tencent Holdings, has picked Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley to lead its Hong Kong IPO, according to a source close to the matter.

Hong Kong dove into the Islamic finance market this week, setting a new benchmark by becoming the first triple-A rated government to sell a 10 year sukuk. Bankers say that the hope is for corporates to follow suit, but there is a slew of challenges for the market to take off, writes Morgan Davis.