Asia Pacific

What a lot of fuss over nothing. At least that’s the view from bankers in Asia when asked about the recent turbulence in the region’s stock markets.

Global equity and debt markets rallied on Tuesday, while volatility subsided, after the People’s Bank of China cut its one year lending rate. But for hard hit emerging markets, more pain could be on the way.

Bank of Queensland plans a London roadshow from September 7 for the new issue from its REDS EHP Australian ABS shelf.

Several former bankers from Royal Bank of Scotland have joined new institutions recently, as the UK firm continues to dismantle a large part of its Asia business.

Svenska Handelsbanken was able to price its latest Samurai deal virtually in line with theoretical euro levels on Thursday, though some away from the deal said it was conservatively sized.

Everbright Securities Co navigated cautious markets on its first outing to dollar bonds, thanks to the presence of anchors orders and a standby letter of credit (SBLC) from China Merchants Bank’s Shanghai branch. As the first triple-B rated SBLC backed trade, it has set a benchmark for future issues.

Bank of Qingdao Co, a Chinese city commercial lender, is considering a Hong Kong listing this year. Citic CLSA Securities and Goldman Sachs are joint sponsors, with Rothschild acting as financial adviser.

A large financing for the acquisition of Tesco’s South Korean asset, Homeplus, has created a stir in the market, coming amid a dearth of private equity-backed leveraged deals in Asia. But the role of foreign banks may be limited by abundant onshore liquidity and the presence of domestic funds, which are keen to take on junior debt, writes Shruti Chaturvedi.

Pakistan made history this week with the signing of an agreement to merge its three bourses under the banner of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE). The move is set to transform its nascent equity capital market, as the country seeks to raise its international profile among foreign investors, writes John Loh.

Infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs) have failed to gain any sort of traction in India since the asset class was introduced last year to reduce the funding pressure on infrastructure projects. In response, the country launched a new consultation on August 20 in a bid to improve the framework but unless several tax and structural issues are fixed, interest in the asset class is unlikely to pick up.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has decided to lift the lid on the maximum number of anchor investors that can be allocated shares in an IPO, according to a statement from the regulator.

It’s tough being a banker. Long hours, stiff drinks, more stiff drinks, and some work in between. At least that’s how it was in my day.