Asia Pacific

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA) is looking to make IPOs mandatory for all insurance companies in India that fit the criteria. For some firms, this could be the kick they need to get their act together. But the regulator should be careful about forcing the hands of insurance firms that are not ready for a listing.

Commodities trader Noble Group is in the spotlight again after Fitch and Moody's published divergent ratings on Monday. Fitch took a more benign view on Noble, but Moody's downgraded it to B2 from Ba3 with a negative outlook.

Malaysia’s Sime Darby is injecting its Australian properties into Singapore-listed Saizen Real Estate Investment Trust via a reverse takeover in exchange for new units and cash raised from bank debt.

Richard Mo has taken up the newly created position of head of China business at Old Mutual Global Investors.

China Aircraft Leasing Group sealed a $300m five year deal on Monday off the back of a $1.2bn order book, making a swift yet successful comeback just four months after its last trade.

Mizuho Securities Co and Maybank Kim Eng have formed a partnership to boost their equity brokerage businesses by offering research and trading execution services between Japan and Malaysia.

Lanka Orix Leasing Co (LOLC) is preparing for its inaugural offshore outing, with the Sri Lankan borrower still to decide between US or Singapore dollars.

Doosan Bobcat has received regulatory approval for its IPO in South Korea, putting it on track to open books in September.

South Korea’s KEB Hana Bank is preparing to go live with its second international bond of the year, having hired five firms to arrange a 144A/Reg S trade.

Hong Kong Exchange, through its subsidiary OTC Clear, has launched a clearing service for cross-currency swaps, beginning with the dollar/offshore renminbi currency pair.

Tulip Maple Berhad, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Telekom Malaysia, has printed its first sukuk to be sold outside of Malaysia.

While the European covered bond pipeline is barren, Australian issuer Suncorp-Metway is lining up a new Australian dollar-denominated 10 year covered bond, continuing its tradition of issuing in its home currency.