Asia Pacific

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has decided to cut the time between closing an IPO and listing the shares on the stock exchange to six days, as it looks to streamline public issuance in the ECM market.

Singapore's Miclyn Express Offshore (MEO) has successfully replaced its outstanding local currency bond with a new dollar offering, making its inaugural foray into the offshore debt market.

Jindal Steel & Power and Tata Steel are seeking covenant waivers on their respective offshore loans, putting the spotlight on tough conditions facing their industry. India’s steel companies, which expanded rapidly over the past few years, are strapped with a heavy debt burden amid lower earnings, forcing them to restructure their existing fundraisings. Shruti Chaturvedi reports.

The Asia ex-Japan bond market sprung to life on November 12 with China Huarong Asset Management, China State Construction Engineering Corp and Beijing Properties opening books for dollar bonds, while Korea Housing Finance Corp (KHFC) opted for a covered bond and Malaysia’s Axiata Group, a sukuk.

ARA Asset Management is looking to raise around S$152m ($107m) from an 18-for-100 rights issue, as the firm looks for more flexibility to meet its funding needs.

Korean Air Lines is getting ready to hit the offshore bond market, having hired a bank and secured a guarantee from the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Kexim) for a hybrid deal.

The Indian government has issued a request for proposals to banks to lead the divestment of a 5% stake in Container Corp of India (Concor), which could raise as much as Rp12.9bn ($194m) based on its market capitalisation.

China Energy Engineering Corp is scheduled to hold its listing hearing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on November 12 for a $1.5bn-$2bn IPO, and start pre-marketing the following week.

The Chinese auto ABS market is poised for a busy end of the year with BMW gearing up for its second transaction of 2015, returning with the Bavarian Sky China series.

The Standard Chartered Renminbi Globalisation Index (RGI) rose 3.26% month on month in September due to the jump in FX turnover for a second consecutive month. However, the bank expects the RGI to fall in Q4 as RMB depreciation expectations are likely to persist in the market.

The Singapore dollar bond market is welcoming a new participant this week with Swiss lender Julius Baer going live on November 11 with an additional tier one trade – the first time a foreign bank is issuing an AT1 in the Lion City.

Minsheng Financial Leasing’s offshore loan has generated enough demand to allow for an increase from the launch size of $200m, despite the borrower slashing the margin by 45bp after launching into general syndication.