Asia Pacific

Hong Kong-based WeLab is set to dip its toes in the Asian syndicated loans market for a $50m borrowing, potentially fuelling a trend of fintech start-up lenders hitting the wholesale market for funds.

Postal Savings Bank of China and its potential HK$62.7bn ($8.1bn) IPO got off to a roaring start due to hedge fund demand. Oversubscribed on day one, it is on track to be the world’s largest IPO in two years. But an order book so far dominated by regional names is about to get a lot more global as management leaves Hong Kong for roadshows in the UK and US. Jonathan Breen reports.

Excitement is building around ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co’s long-awaited IPO in India, with bankers having predicted a blow-out response even before it launches next week. The deal will not only be India’s first listing from the insurance sector, but also the country’s largest IPO in six years. John Loh reports.

Hon Hai Precision Industry sealed $1bn from a dual-tranche offering, seizing what is thought to be the last good window before the Fed’s decision on a September rate hike.

State Bank of India (SBI) succeeded in pricing the first offshore Basel III additional tier one (AT1) offering from an Indian name this week, but a bullish pricing strategy meant orders were muted and it has struggled in secondary. Despite the glitches, many believe the deal has set an important benchmark, writes Addison Gong.

A group of 11 Indian banks have a total capital adequacy ratio that is either at or lower than the minimum required by the end of the 2019 fiscal year, according to a report published by Fitch Ratings on Monday.

The yen market, for so long held back by an in-built caution as well as unfavourable swap rates, is rapidly re-establishing itself as crucial source of capital for some of the world’s biggest banks.

Telecom hardware company Tejas Networks has returned to the market for a listing, having first proposed an IPO before the financial crisis.

In this round-up, China is keen to expand FTZ sphere, yield differential continues to narrow between offshore and onshore bonds, and London reiterates desire to promote RMB internationalisation. Plus, a recap of our coverage this week.

Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission has reprimanded HSBC and fined it HK$2.5m ($$322,260) for regulatory breaches and internal control failings linked to position limit failures, it said in a statement.

State Bank of India launched the first-ever offshore Basel III compliant additional tier one (AT1) bank capital offering from an Indian name on Wednesday, a deal market participants expect to set the pricing benchmark for future Indian lenders from this asset class.

China Construction Bank (CCB) is set to become the fourth Chinese lender to securitize nonperforming loans (NPLs) with a Rmb702m ($105m) offering scheduled to launch on September 20.