Asia Pacific

Royal Bank of Canada on Wednesday became the fourth Canadian bank to issue an Australian dollar covered bond in April, pricing considerably tighter than its compatriots and in the largest size yet. The success the Canadians have enjoyed in Kangaroos is in stark contrast to a sterile sterling market.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) tapped the Indonesian rupiah market for its latest Covid-19 response bond this week, becoming the first SSA to print a response bond in an emerging market currency.

China's MIE Holdings Corp is speaking with bondholders about restructuring its dollar debt, following a missed coupon payment on Sunday.

Chinese conglomerate HNA Group called an eleventh-hour meeting this week in an attempt to delay a bond that was due to mature just hours later. Investors criticised the company on the call ─ but bankers are still unsure whether the bond has been repaid.

The Carlyle Group has raised Rp7.6bn ($100m) after selling most of its stake in Indian diagnostic laboratory chain Metropolis Healthcare, according to a source close to the deal.

Malaysian oil and gas company Petroliam Nasional (Petronas) made its mark on the dollar bond market on Tuesday, raising $6bn from a deal that received orders of $37bn at its peak. This was despite a ratings outlook change to negative this week and headwinds from the Covid-19 pandemic and volatile oil prices.

Singapore’s CapitaLand, a real estate giant, has raised a total of S$400m ($283m) from two bilateral green loans, giving a further boost to its sustainability financing credentials.

Herald International Financial Leasing, a subsidiary of German carmaker BMW, bagged a Rmb3bn ($425m) dual-tranche asset-backed note on Tuesday, its largest ABN outing yet. Both the senior tranches were priced 100bp tighter than the issuer’s last two outings.

Yageo Corp, a Taiwan-based electronic components manufacturer, has raised $650m from an issue of global depositary shares (GDS), boosting the final offer size on strong institutional investor demand.

Chinese banks’ eagerness to lend has long allowed the country’s borrowers to get away with razor-thin pricing on their offshore loans. Not anymore.

Asia’s third online-only IPO was launched this week, confirming that virtual roadshows are a new normal for the region’s equity capital markets amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Companies elsewhere should take heed.

HSBC has overhauled the structure of its global banking business for the second time in as many years in a push to cut costs and bring its commercial and investment banking divisions closer together.