Asia Pacific

China’s fifth largest lender Bank of Communications Co has mandated leads for the Hong Kong listing of its investment banking arm BoCom International, which is likely to raise $300m, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group has roped in two lenders for an $800m financing to support its acquisition of Indian firm Gland Pharma.

Export-Import Bank of India took the 144A route for the first time as it builds up its track record in the debt market. It was a masterstroke move for the issuer, as it got away with top notch pricing and saw US investors taking more than 60% of the notes.

Home building materials maker China Lesso Group Holdings will likely increase the size of its latest borrowing, thanks to a good response during general syndication.

In this round-up, growing Singapore-Chongqing ties, RMB qualified foreign institutional investor (RQFII) adds Singapore entity, and Bank of China’s RMB Index sees an uptick in May. Plus, a recap of GlobalRMB’s coverage this week.

Nomura saw a Brexit-related bounce in its fixed income division when it reported its quarterly performance on Thursday, thanks to a healthy dispersion of client trading views. But the bank’s European operations still delivered an overall loss.

Mapletree Commercial Trust raised the roof with its S$1.04bn ($766.01m) overnight block-plus-rights combo this week, in a deal that earned praise from bankers on and away from the transaction. The placement tranche now ranks as the largest by a Singapore real estate investment trust, and could pave the way for more Reit-related fundraisings. John Loh reports.

Asia has had a good run of green bond issuance this year, but its contribution to global volumes slowed in the second quarter. Market participants are now calling for bigger participation from governments in the region to inject some momentum into an asset class that is facing multiple headwinds. Narae Kim reports.

Singapore’s DBS Bank has made headlines for a series of high profile changes this week, including its decision to establish a securities business in Japan.

Call me old-fashioned, or just plain old, but I have a hard time understanding the modern obsession with phones. And I cannot help but feel sorry for those who just can’t free themselves from the shackles of technology — even when they want to.

India appears poised to continue its strong IPO streak as Dilip Buildcon gets ready to launch a Rp6.53bn ($97.5m) trade next week.

India’s cabinet has agreed to raise the foreign shareholding cap on the country’s stock exchanges from 5% to 15%, potentially giving long awaited IPOs a big push.