Asia Pacific

Export-Import Bank of India (India Exim) has become the first credit outside of north Asia to sell a bond in the region this year, printing a $500m trade on January 13.

Deutsche Bank is forecasting net Panda bond issuance of Rmb20bn this year as part of a wider deepening of China’s onshore bond market including greater access for foreign investors.

A seven year borrowing of up to $500m for state-owned Indian company National Thermal Power Corp (NTPC) has become the first to be stymied by a change in guidelines to foreign currency debt issuance by domestic companies.

Medical equipment maker Nipro launched on Wednesday the first of this year’s Japanese convertibles sold outside Japan, and found keen demand, with a seven times oversubscription.

In a starved Russian loan market peppered with asset backed loans, three Chinese banks have lent a highly prized unsecured credit facility of Rmb4.8bn ($730m) to Russian mining company Norilsk Nickel. It is the latest sign of the increasing importance of Chinese money in a Russian economy increasingly squeezed by international sanctions and falling oil prices. Elly Whittaker reports.

HNA Group International, a Hong Kong-based investment holding subsidiary of airline HNA Group, is preparing its debut Panda bond. The trade will be sold into China’s exchange bond market, which has recently started giving approvals for Panda bonds from red chip companies.

Hungary will not issue a dim sum bond until a period of sustained stability is seen in the Chinese markets, said bankers on Wednesday.

China Nonferrous Metal Mining and Vista Land & Lifescapes are meeting investors ahead of their respective dollar offerings, while Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology is set to gauge interest in Europe for a euro-denominated deal.

The Asia head and chief executive officer of Mitsubishi UFJ Securities (Hong Kong) is to hand over the reins to a colleague in April.

The drawing power of one of Asia’s top credits was on show this week with Ping An Life Insurance Co of China debuting in the dollar bond market with a $1.2bn deal that was multiple times covered across two tranches.

Hotel Lotte could raise as much as $5bn from its IPO, expected as early as March, and land the title of the largest ever listing in South Korea in the process, according to market sources.

China Energy Reserve and Chemicals Group offered bond investors a generous premium to make up for its unrated status and for executing a deal with a less investor-friendly structure. Chinese banks, including those working on the trade, submitted anchor orders and contributed to the transaction's success.