Asia Pacific

Indonesia’s government has been lauded for taking a proactive approach to combat the impact of the pandemic this year, unleashing a spate of fiscal and monetary policies to spur growth and rallying state-owned enterprises to offer support. There are still plenty of challenges ahead but the ministry of finance and the central bank have proved to be careful stewards of the economy.

Why have Indonesian state-owned companies seen resounding success in the dollar bond market this year amid the pandemic? Morgan Davis finds out.

Indonesian high yield companies that had limited access to the international bond market this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic are now preparing for a challenging 2021 — unless sentiment gets a dramatic boost from the vaccine news. Morgan Davis reports.

Indonesia has made impressive use of the international bond markets to endure a volatile year. GlobalCapital finds out what the country is planning next.

State-owned enterprises have emerged as a critical agent for Indonesia’s government to spur economic growth during the pandemic. Their importance is only likely to rise in the future, writes Rashmi Kumar.

The Indonesian authorities have used nearly every trick in their fiscal and monetary policy playbook to kick-start an economy hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. The results are slowly showing, but there is an uphill battle ahead, writes Rashmi Kumar.

Foreign central bank action sparked arbitrage opportunities in Swiss francs to shrink in 2020, so investors took a more domestic approach. As foreign issuance dries up, so too do Swissie mandates for international desks. Frank Jackman reports.

HSBC rejigs IB team – LBBW builds up in Asia – MSCI ditches some Chinese stocks

How important is reading the offering circular (OC) on a bond? Not very, according to some investors. However, that approach sets a dangerous precedent.

US-listed Chinese companies have raised more than $12bn from equity investors in the past month, with iQiyi becoming the latest to simultaneously sell a convertible bond and price a follow-on offering of its American depositary shares. With valuations soaring for many of these stocks, bankers expect more issuers to jump into the market in 2021, writes Jonathan Breen.

Dollar bond sales from India have seen a last minute pick-up before the year-end, with three firms pricing their deals in the past week. Indian companies, like the rest of the region, faced hurdles in accessing offshore funding this year, but bankers are optimistic about 2021. Morgan Davis reports.

Xinyi Solar Holdings has raised HK$3.9bn ($503.1m) after more than doubling the size of an overnight placement of primary shares.