Asia Pacific

Citi and Goldman Sachs executed a clean-up trade for SK Telecom in South Korea’s Posco on Monday, with the club deal raising W307.9bn ($261.9m).

K Wah Financial Services is said to be on the hunt for a HK$6bn ($773.6m) five year facility. The company was last seen in the loans market in May this year, when it sealed a HK$2.4bn borrowing.

The uncertainty fueled by the events of 2016 has left the markets shaken with many issuers reticent about launching new deals before the end of the year. But borrowers keen to put the year behind them should think twice about betting on 2017. With impending elections in Europe and Donald Trump’s inauguration, there is plenty that could cause markets to unravel in the first quarter.

Standard Chartered has outlined the next stage in its plans to cut costs and reorganise the bank in a recent memo to staff. The strategy puts relationship managers at the centre of the corporate banking team under Paul Skelton, who starts at the bank in December, but the changes are expected to lead to job cuts.

Shanghai Dazhong Public Utilities Group Co priced its Hong Kong IPO below the midpoint of expectations on Tuesday, fetching HK$1.72bn ($222.27m).

Chinese selfie app maker Meitu has cracked open books for its potential HK$5.5bn ($710.4m) IPO, a deal notable for coming from the technology sector — a rarity in Hong Kong’s primary market.

Loncin’s debut international bond squeaked into the quiet dim sum market on Monday, raising Rmb800m ($116m). However, the outlook for offshore renminbi debt remains poor as issuers and investors stay away.

Chow Sang Sang Holdings International, the Hong Kong jewellery retailer, is expanding its securities business to onshore China, signing a joint venture with several Mainland partners.

Laurus Labs is raising as much as Rp13.6bn ($198m) from an IPO in India which will open books early next month, after setting the terms of the transaction.

Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA) announced a series of management changes on Monday US time, including the appointment of a new chief executive officer.

State Power Investment Corp (SPIC) kicked off this week's Asia bond market, opening books to a dual-tranche offering on Tuesday morning Asia time.

The launch of Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect is an exciting development but of more importance is whether this further opening up of China’s capital account increases the odds of A-shares making it into the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, according to market participants.