Asia Pacific

Pakistan and Sri Lanka have approached the loan market for their latest fundraisings. While interest in the former has been steadily rising, the latter was recently hit by a rating downgrade.

The Asia ex-Japan bank capital market sprang back to life this week as United Overseas Bank (UOB) completed the first-dollar denominated trade in the region this year. The deal's strong reception bodes well for those looking to follow but market participants have predicted another lacklustre year in term of volumes, writes Rev Hui.

The government of Mongolia is making its debut in the syndicated loan market, launching a $200m dual-trancher after plans for a bond fell through due to pricing issues. While the country’s heavy reliance on commodities makes it a risky bet, bankers reckon the development of a copper mine project and its potential income gives its outlook a boost. Shruti Chaturvedi reports.

Bank of Communications (BoCom) Financial Leasing is getting ready to hit the road ahead of a Reg S dollar offering that could come as early as next week.

Perennial Real Estate is wooing Singapore dollar bond investors, having opened books for a three year trade on Thursday.

Five banks are set to arrange a series of investor meetings in the US for the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has lost a member of its equity capital markets syndicate team in Hong Kong, according to sources.

Existing shareholders in Infosys are selling stock worth Rp8.8bn ($130m) via a block trade, which is expected to price before markets in India open on Thursday.

Far from a signal of returning strength in commodities, this week’s iron ore surge was due to freak activity in derivatives markets, an analyst has claimed, since daily futures volumes were equal to the annual output of big iron ore producers.

Fuji Machine Manufacturing issued a ¥10bn ($89m) convertible bond on Wednesday, selling it outside Japan. Mizuho led the deal, which was priced at the top of the range, eight times oversubscribed.

Cochin Shipyard is expected to call for a second round of bids from banks for its planned IPO in India owing to a disagreement on fees, according to equity capital markets bankers in the country.

China Zheshang Bank is gauging demand for a $1.5bn-$1.6bn IPO in Hong Kong and plans to launch the trade next week.