Asia Pacific

Tata Steel is holding conversations with banks to refinance debt related to its Canadian operations. The talks come even as the company is a week away from winding up a $1.5bn refinancing for its Singapore subsidiary.

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has mandated eight banks to run its $4bn loan, with invitations to be sent out to lenders soon.

Hutchison China MediTech’s (Chi-Med) $100m IPO on the Nasdaq has been oversubscribed three days into bookbuilding, according to sources close to the transaction.

United Overseas Bank started receiving bids for a tier two offering on Wednesday in what is the year's first dollar bank capital deal from Asia ex-Japan.

The Indian government has kicked off the divestment of a 5% stake in Container Corp of India, which would add about Rp11.65bn ($173m) to the country’s coffers.

Woori Bank has hired six banks to work on a dollar-denominated additional tier one (AT1) offering.

Aster DM Healthcare is close to sealing a $280m multi-tranche syndicated loan, with three or four lenders already committing to the deal.

Larger trading volumes in offshore renminbi (CNH) as a result of the currency’s erratic behaviour delivered a rise in Standard Chartered Renminbi Globalisation Index in January, helping to offset falls in deposits and dim sum bonds.

Japanese convertible bond issuance in the European market has been quiet so far this year, but kicked on sharply on Monday when Suzuki Motor Corp launched a ¥200bn ($1.75bn) deal that one banker said was the largest since 2011.

The influx of Chinese M&A into Europe has brought the terrifying task of evaluating the credit risk of clandestine Chinese state-owned enterprises — but the loan structures used so far protect lenders from the unknown.

Issuers lined up to print in euros on Tuesday as a vital European Central Bank meeting loomed later in the week — but bankers were divided as to how much the flurry of deals was down to concerns over the central bank meeting.

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan has launched its third syndication in just the past year, seeking a $150m financing this time around.