Asia Pacific

Indian debt issuers are starting to feel the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has forced a country-wide lockdown for three weeks. With dollar bonds slumping in the secondary market and downgrades coming fast, the outlook for borrowers is bleak.

Reliance Industries is seeking commitments from banks for a ¥38bn ($351m) Samurai loan in senior syndication. The Indian company’s deal is part of a two-tranche dollar and yen-denominated transaction worth about $1.45bn.

Carnival Cruises, the world’s largest leisure travel company, is rolling the dice on a coronavirus rescue package, launching a $1.25bn underwritten rights issue, $1.75bn convertible bond, and a $3bn dual currency high yield bond.

Viva China Holdings is selling a chunk of stock in sportswear manufacturer Li Ning Co worth as much as HK$1.51bn ($194.3m).

Standard Chartered’s announcement that it was allocating $1bn to help companies deal with coronavirus, or transition towards making essential medical kit, makes a virtue of doing what most banks are up to anyway. There’s nothing wrong with a bit of good news in these troubled times, but Stan Chart’s competition might feel they’ve missed a trick.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has selected six domestic securities houses to be regulated on a consolidated basis. The move will grant these firms more flexibility in risk assessment and enable them to have a higher leverage ratio.

China’s official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) recorded a sharp rebound in March as businesses slowly resumed their activity. While the strong figures led to a rally in the stock market, economists are warning against reading too much too soon into the data as challenges remain for the country’s economy.

Credit Suisse has appointed Mark Carlile as vice-chairman of investment banking and capital markets for Australia, and Angelo Scasserra as co-head of the division.

Fitch Ratings has downgraded the Maldives to B from B+ and revised its outlook to negative from stable, as the Covid-19 pandemic hits the island nation’s tourism industry.

Hong Kong-listed Shanghai Henlius Biotech got the go ahead from its controlling shareholders on Monday for a secondary flotation on China’s Star Market.

Logan Property Holdings has joined a few Chinese real estate companies in the offshore loan market, seeking a HK$2bn ($258m) borrowing.

China-based Sunkwan Properties Group is looking to Hong Kong as a venue to go public, enlisting ABC International as the sponsor for the IPO.