Asia Pacific

Yorkie Wong, head of investment banking at Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, has left the firm.

A new scheme launched by China’s National Equities Exchange and Quotations (Neeq) got off to a poor start this week. Around two-thirds of the 32 companies listed on the ‘selection tier’ board fell on their trading debuts. That was a sharp contrast to the opening day of a local rival, the Shanghai Star board.

Ant Group revealed last week that it is planning a multi-billion-dollar dual listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai. The company is often referred to as a startup, but it will float at a valuation well above $100bn and has been in business for six years. What is the right term for a company like Ant? It is time for a new moniker.

Korea South-East Power Co (Kosep) has printed a $300m sustainability bond, in part to tackle the impact of Covid-19, becoming the third issuer from the country to tap the socially responsible investment market this month.

China Everbright Bank Co relied on the syndicate team running its deal for a $700m floating rate note on Monday.

Hong Kong-based Chong Hing Bank’s $250m Basel III-compliant additional tier one (AT1) bond received just muted demand from investors because of its tight pricing approach.

DaFa Properties Group raised $150m from its bond return on Monday, offering investors a hefty yield of 13.5%.

China’s Belle International Holdings has returned to the loans market to refinance some of its debt, but has opted for a club loan this time around in a bid to cut costs associated with underwriting.

Siong Ooi, MUFG Bank’s co-head of debt capital markets, loans and bonds, has relocated to Sydney from Singapore.

Blackstone-backed Mindspace Business Parks Real Estate Investment Trust has kicked off a Rp45bn ($601.2m) listing in India.

ANZ has altered the pre-maturity test of the hard bullet transactions in its covered bond programme, by doubling the time the covered bond guarantor has to sell assets. The "investor-friendly" update, which improves rating stability, follows ANZ’s recent downgrade and could be of interest to other issuers in a similar situation.

Australia has launched its second syndication of its 2020-21 fiscal year on Monday morning, Sydney time, extending its curve out to 2051 with a new benchmark.