Asia Pacific

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.

China’s government has won plaudits for its response to the Covid-19 coronavirus. That praise should extend to its capital markets.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has penalised two Star market companies for failing to make sufficient risk disclosures in their IPO documents. The duo were among the first batch of 25 companies to list on the Star board.

Akesobio, a Chinese biopharmaceutical firm, has launched an online-only roadshow for its up to HK$2.58bn ($332.9m) IPO amid numerous country-wide lockdowns globally to combat the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Malaysia's Petroliam Nasional and China's Lenovo Group set the stage for new dollar deals on Tuesday, taking advantage of a rally in Asian bonds and improved investor sentiment despite the growing impact of the Covid-19 coronavirus.

With emerging markets across the globe facing an overwhelming liquidity squeeze, the IMF said on Thursday that it would “look for solutions that can unlock critical financing” in countries where the unsustainability of debt prevented the fund from lending, potentially increasing funding options for the most stressed of countries.

German agency L-Bank steamed into the dim sum bond market on Tuesday to print what could be the start of a new flurry of offshore renminbi issuance.

South Korea's Shinhan Bank raised $500m from a Formosa bond on Wednesday, taking advantage of the strong interest from Taiwanese investors for its transaction. The borrower paid just 20bp in new issue premium.

In this round-up, China's foreign currency reserves decreased by $46bn in March, and non-Chinese institutions continued to add onshore bonds to their books.

US-listed AMTD International floated on the Singapore Exchange this week, debuting dual-class shares on the southeast Asian bourse through a secondary offering.