Asia Pacific

Syndication for a $274m loan for Indian pharmaceutical company Strides Arcolab is under way, with one lender at the helm. The proceeds are for the company’s acquisition of Aspen’s generic pharmaceutical business in Australia.

HSBC has named former CLSA banker Andrew Maynard as head of sales trading and execution services for Asia Pacific equities, along with three other fresh senior hires for the unit.

Citi has been quick to capitalise on the reopening in the Australian RMBS market with a new A$500m ($346m). It follows hard on the heels of Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s (CBA) recent A$2bn trade that came after a jittery period in markets.

China Securities (International) Finance Holding Company has picked banks for a US dollar bond, boosting the appeal of the notes with a standby letter of credit from the Hong Kong branch of China Construction Bank.

Today's Chinese equity rebound is supporting receiving interest in short-end CNY swaps. Sources expect the rebound to extend and drive the 1s/5s curve slope steeper over the next few weeks. Meanwhile, Russian bank VEB is planning a Panda bond issue, writes Deirdre Yeung of Total Derivatives.

Bi Feng Tang (Group) Holdings Corp has tapped Morgan Stanley as the sole sponsor for its proposed IPO in Hong Kong, with the casual restaurant chain filing a draft prospectus on September 4.

Barclays has strengthened its Asia Pacific coverage of the oil and gas sector with the hire of Jorge Martinez from HSBC.

The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) is planning to sell Rp6bn ($90.6m) worth of tax-free bonds this month, expected to be labelled green. The debut issue will be followed by a larger Rp14bn deal in November.

Genscript Biotech Corp is eyeing a $150m listing in Hong Kong, with the company filing an A1 with the city’s stock exchange via sole sponsor Haitong International Capital.

Cross-border capital raising within Asean is set to become easier following the release of a handbook detailing a streamlined framework for issuers.

Shenzhen Expressway Company is set to make its debut in the international bond market after scheduling investor meetings to start on Monday, September 7.

Malaysia’s Al-Salām Reit has launched its MR252m ($60m) IPO, with the domestic-only float getting some early interest from Shariah investment focussed funds and investors with links to the property trust’s sponsor.