Asia Pacific

Several European banks’ noses were put out of joint this week by research from Jefferies, which suggested a very different ranking of banks’ ESG characteristics from that investors usually get from rating providers. The study argued commercial ESG ratings on banks are not fit for purpose.

Malaysia’s IPO market is set to pick up, with at least two chunky listings in the works, raising optimism among bankers for busy second and third quarters.

BIMB Holdings, a Malaysian financial holding company, has raised MR795.6m ($192.4m) from a primary placement of shares, part of a group-wide restructuring that is expected to be completed by August.

Singapore’s agribusiness company Wilmar International has returned to the loan market for a borrowing of up to $1bn.

The US, Japan, Malaysia and South Korea have joined the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action, the collaborative group striving to reshape economic policy-making for the battle against global warming.

Demand for BPCE's latest Kangaroo note was skewed towards the preferred senior format this week, with non-preferred paper only making up A$125m ($96.0m) of the A$750m deal. The French firm was also joined in the market by Rabobank, which sold its first Aussie deal after an almost two year absence.

South Korean issuer Hanwha Solutions Corp debuted in offshore renminbi (CNH) on Tuesday, pricing a Rmb1bn ($153m) green bond that benefitted from a guarantee from the Asian Development Bank’s Credit Guarantee and Investment Facility.

Southeast Asian tech company Grab, which offers everything from ride hailing and food delivery services to digital wallet payments, is planning to go public on the Nasdaq by merging with Altimeter Group Corp, a special purpose acquisition company (Spac).

Chailease International Leasing Co, a Vietnam-based subsidiary of Taiwan’s Chailease Finance, is gearing up to launch an up to $100m loan.

Fears around the health of China Huarong Asset Management Co have spooked investors this week and taken a toll on Asia’s bond market. The bad debt manager’s dollar bonds have tumbled, bringing new issuance from China to a near halt and putting pressure on other state-linked credits in the secondary market.

Vingroup Joint Stock Company raised $500m from an exchangeable bond this week, selling the largest equity-linked transaction from Vietnam — and developing the market by using novel structural features never seen before in the country. Rashmi Kumar reports.

MUFG Bank has appointed Johnson Yuan as deputy president for its wholly owned subsidiary MUFG Bank (China).