Asia Pacific

Hong Kong Broadband Network is enticing banks to a HK$5bn ($645m) loan by offering them a juicier margin than previously.

Singapore’s Farrer Park Co has become the latest company from Asia to tap the green loan market, raising a S$200m ($147m) facility from United Overseas Bank.

Chinese issuers opened the Covid-19-linked bond market this year, tapping the capital markets to raise funds for relief from the health and economic effects of the virus. More deals have since popped up both in Asia and the world, and experts say the pandemic will change the way issuers and investors think about social bonds in future.

Bankers are famous gossips. They like nothing more than talking about the revolving door of job moves in the industry, the embarrassing slip-ups rivals have made with clients or the scandals that can result when alcohol and the capital markets collide. But although the rumour mill ensures bankers know plenty about other firms, they don’t always know what’s going on at their own.

The New Zealand Treasury reduced its 2020/21 funding programme by NZ$10bn ($6.75bn) to NZ$50bn on Wednesday as its economy shows signs of a quicker recovery than seemed likely after the coronavirus lockdown earlier this year.

Beijing Construction Engineering Group has returned to the debt market for a $350m term loan.

China’s Avic International Holding Corp raised $300m from its bond outing on Tuesday.

Ganfeng Lithium, the world’s largest producer of lithium metals, has raised HK$1.46bn ($187.8m) from the sale of primary shares.

Tensions between the US and China dealt a blow to state-owned utility firm China Three Gorges Corp’s $1bn bond outing, which fell short of the lead banks’ pricing expectations.

Bangkok Bank sold its first Basel III-compliant additional tier one dollar bond on Tuesday, making it a rare bank capital offering from Thailand.

The local government of Inner Mongolia paid a heftier premium than usual for its bonds in China this week, raising some concerns over whether higher yields will remain as Beijing urges issuers to speed up deal flow.

Ming Yuan Cloud Holdings is set to wrap up bookbuilding for its up to HK$6.2bn ($796.7m) Hong Kong IPO on Thursday, following a flood of demand from global investors, according to two sources close to the deal.