Asia Pacific

Chinese internet giant Baidu has met with a rapid flood of early demand for its Hong Kong secondary offering, which is expected to raise around $3bn.

The Asian Development Bank broke a decade-long absence from China’s domestic market to price a Rmb2bn ($307m) Panda bond at a record low spread this week. Its assistant treasurer told GlobalCapital that the multilateral development bank is open to selling longer dated and green renminbi-denominated deals. Addison Gong reports.

I have been told that March 8 was International Women's Day. It’s a relatively new one to me, but I applaud the efforts people are making to celebrate the hardworking women in our lives.

L Catterton Asia Acquisition Corp has bagged $250m from its Nasdaq IPO, as it becomes the latest special purpose acquisition company (Spac) focused on Asia to list in the US.

Secondary listings in Hong Kong got a fresh boost this week with online car marketplace Autohome pricing its deal and internet giant Baidu getting ready to roll out its transaction. More homecomings by US-listed Chinese companies are in the pipeline, but the number of viable candidates is shrinking, writes Jonathan Breen.

Coupang, a South Korean e-commerce company, scooped up $4.2bn from its IPO this week, after pricing the deal above the marketed range. It is the largest US listing from Asia since Alibaba Group Holding raised $25bn seven years ago.

Jardine Matheson, one of Hong Kong’s oldest business giants, is planning to fund a $5.5bn acquisition of a minority stake in its subsidiary through a combination of loan and internal cash.

Tricor Holdings is planning a return to the loan market to refinance a HK$2.8bn ($360m) borrowing it sealed in 2016 for a leveraged buyout by investment firm Permira.

Asia’s leveraged buyout loan market is facing a setback after a planned financing to back the acquisition of Mphasis, an Indian IT services firm, was scrapped as discussions between the buyer and seller fell through.

China Hongqiao Group and Guangdong Lingyi iTech Manufacturing Co are seeking loans worth a total of $350m.

Asia’s debt market was hit with volatility this week, putting pressure on secondary trading, denting primary bond supply and forcing investment grade borrower Indian Railway Finance Corp to pull its dollar transaction. Is there any respite on the way? Morgan Davis finds out.

Chinese car manufacturer BAIC Motor Corp sold a popular $350m bond on Wednesday. While the issuer offered a premium to investors in the primary market, the notes ended up trading tighter in secondary.