Asia Pacific

DBS Group's profits stumbled during the second quarter of 2016 as the bank had to put provisions aside to deal with potential effects from its exposure to troubled energy services firm Swiber Group.

China Gas Holdings is laying the groundwork for its second Panda bond of the year having applied to the Shanghai Stock Exchange for an issuance quota not exceeding Rmb7bn ($1.05bn). But unlike its debut in the asset class at the start of the year, the issuer will be targeting a wider investor base through a public offering.

DBS’ head of treasury and markets says there is room for the renminbi to appreciate in the short term. While the longer-term trend is for the currency to fall, the bank’s forecast for USD/CNY remains more upbeat than the market consensus.

Everbright Securities has signed up eight cornerstone investors for the bulk of its HK$9.02bn ($1.16bn) IPO in Hong Kong, with high profile names such as China Life and Prudential in the fray, said sources.

Indian construction company Dilip Buildcon has raised a potential Rp6.6bn ($98.6m) from its IPO after a robust turnout from investors, with some portions nearly 80x subscribed.

Aluminum Corporation of China (Chalco) has registered plans to sell a new foreign currency bond with the National Development and Reform Commission

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has appointed Izumi Devalier as head of Japan economics, poaching her from HSBC in Hong Kong.

Yunnan Water Hong Kong Co, an affiliate of Chinese provincial government backed Yunnan Water, has capped its latest borrowing at $130m despite having sought $150m originally.

In this round-up, China is open to free trade agreement talks with the UK, China Foreign Exchange Trade System sees its RMB index recover, and China Taiping Insurance Group is set to venture into the domestic mutual fund market. Plus, a recap of GlobalRMB’s top stories this week.

Hong Kong-listed United Energy Group is planning a rights issue of at least 13.08bn shares to raise a potential HK$2.6bn ($335.2m), according to a filing.

South Korea’s Nonghyup Bank is looking to reach out to international investors for the first time this year, having hired banks to work on a 144A trade.

The Singapore Exchange is going ahead with its plan to acquire London-based Baltic Exchange for £77.6m ($101.7m), half a year after submitting a non-binding bid for the shipping bourse.