Asia Pacific

Korea Expressway Corp is in the process of hiring banks to lead a planned dollar bond transaction.

In this round-up, China urges the US to help improve their bilateral relationship, the banking and insurance regulator sets restrictions on lenders participating in the online loan market, and FTSE Russell decides to include 11 Star market stocks in its global equity benchmarks.

Crédit Agricole has picked banks to run a planned senior preferred Panda bond, its third outing in the format. An investor call has been scheduled for next week.

SciClone Pharmaceuticals, which manufactures a possible treatment for the coronavirus, hit the IPO market with a HK$2.18bn ($281.2m) offering on Friday.

Ping An Insurance has raised $250m from the first offshore bond from China following the Lunar New Year holiday. It was also the only borrower from Asia ex-Japan to hit the dollar debt market this week.

In this round-up, consumer inflation in China disappoints in January, lenders extend a record amount of new renminbi loans last month, and the banking and insurance regulator asks financial institutions to step up their reputational risk management.

The Singapore Exchange (SGX) and Brussels-based Euroclear Bank have teamed up to launch a new bond structure in Asia.

Asia Allied Infrastructure Holdings, a Hong Kong-listed property developer and investor, has returned to the loan market after one year. It has raised HK$1.3bn ($167.6m) from a group of five banks.

Chinese delivery company SF Express Co is seeking an up to HK$24bn ($3bn) loan for its acquisition of Kerry Logistics Network, signalling the start of a revival in fundraising for event-driven situations. Pan Yue reports.

A recent bout of volatility in the secondary trading of Chinese high yield bonds means supply from lower-rated credits is expected to remain muted over the next few weeks. While stability has returned to the debt market, investors remain cautious, writes Morgan Davis.

South Korean e-commerce firm Coupang is set for a multi-billion-dollar New York IPO — the first US listing from the country for a decade. The deal structure could appeal to other Korean start-ups, bankers said this week. Jonathan Breen reports.

Macrotech Developers, an Indian real estate company that was called Lodha Developers until mid-2019, has revived plans for a listing under its new name, three years after its last attempt at an IPO.