Asia Pacific

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has finally set in motion its plans to go public, which have been three years in the making. Investors and bankers are sitting up and paying attention as Asia’s oldest exchange gets ready for one of the most high-profile IPOs in India this year. Jonathan Breen reports.

Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) issued a five year Aussie dollar floater on Wednesday, attracting strong demand from Australian and Asian investors.

The RMB is now the most active currency used by the United Arab Emirates and Qatar for direct payments with China and Hong Kong, the latest data from the Swift shows. This is despite global expectation of a further weakening in the renminbi.

China Development Bank (CDB) reopened a dual-currency transaction on Wednesday, bagging a $2bn equivalent from the euro and dollar tap. With strong demand from onshore investors, the policy lender was able to cut cost while raising more than the size of the original bond.

China got its first taste of domestic green bonds this week with Shanghai Pudong Development Bank printing a massive Rmb20bn ($4.3bn) transaction that was well received by the market.

Philippine homebuilder Vista Land & Lifescapes opted to tap its outstanding bond rather than sell a new deal on Wednesday due to challenging market conditions. Although pricing wasn’t as tight as expected, offshore investors were still keen due to its scarcity value and a lack of other primary supply.

The renminbi's acceptance into the IMF Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket and Chinese initiatives such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, are leading to a new monetary order, according to speakers at the Asia-Global Dialogue 2016 conference, held in Hong Kong on January 28.

South Korea’s Kookmin Bank is looking to price its second covered bond on Thursday, while HNA Group is out to tap its existing dollar notes that were issued two months ago.

The Indian government is to sell down a 10% stake in oil and gas company Engineers India via an offer for sale on Friday and is hoping to net around Rp6.63bn ($97.69m) based on its market capitalisation.

A $250m loan for Fiat’s Indian arm has attracted large commitments from four lenders and is due to close soon.

South Korea’s stock market regulator has approved Hotel Lotte’s plans for an IPO, which could raise as much as $5bn and take the title of the largest listing in the country.

The Taiwan Stock Exchange and Singapore Exchange have cemented a strategic partnership that will allow Taiwanese brokers to directly trade Singapore-listed securities.