Asia Pacific

Ant Group started speaking to investors this week for mammoth IPOs on the Hong Kong and Star markets, which at an estimated size of $30bn would become the world’s largest ever share offering. The deal is a big win for both exchanges — and bankers in Hong Kong are also expecting a record fee from the deal. Jonathan Breen and Rebecca Feng report.

Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME) attracted nearly $13bn of orders for its offshore bond debut this week. The company’s solid credit profile and backing from its parent helped win over investors. Morgan Davis reports.

Credit Suisse has named Carsten Stoehr as the head of its newly-created Asia Pacific strategic products (ASP) team, adding another job to a veteran banker who already runs Greater China.

Korea Expressway Corp made its debut in the Kangaroo market this week, taking A$450m ($324.6m) from a dual tranche deal.

CS appoints Stoehr to head new team – JPM’s China JV head leaves – Jain moves to DBS

Hong Kong property company Hysan Development Co made a quick return to the bond market on Wednesday. It added $200m to a perpetual non-call three year deal priced just last week, thanks to strong follow-up demand.

JP Morgan has made three senior changes to its equity research team in Asean.

The Indian government is offloading an up-to 10% stake in Hindustan Aeronautics that could add about Rp33.5bn ($451m) to its coffers.

The Covid-19 coronavirus has thrown up many challenges for bankers forced to work from home. But perhaps none is tougher than trying their very best to pretend they’re getting anything done.

Thomas Hugger has more than two decades of investment experience in frontier markets. Volatility is part of the job description. But he has never faced challenges like those unleashed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Australia and New Zealand broke bond syndication records yet again this week, as Australia printed its largest ever deal while New Zealand scooped its largest ever order book with a seven year tap.

South Korea’s Kakao Games began a two-day price discovery process for its IPO on Wednesday, seeking investor feedback for its deal.