Asia Pacific

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) acted this week to protect their economies against the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank re-opened its headquarters in Beijing on Monday after being shut for weeks as a result of the outbreak of the coronavirus, which began in China but quickly spread across the world.

Chinese issuer Shandong Ruyi Technology Group Co missed an interest payment on a Rmb1bn ($143m) domestic bond on Monday, just days after holding a bondholder meeting.

The Philippine Stock Exchange suspended all trading on Tuesday, after the country’s president announced stricter coronavirus quarantine measures for Luzon, the northern island home to the capital Manila.

Xinjiang Guanghui Industry Investment (Group) Co has priced $59m of new bonds as part of an exchange offer. It received lukewarm response for the transaction, with existing investors of less than a fifth of the original deal agreeing to roll over.

Ping An Bank has stepped up in the offshore loan market, launching its first deal on a sole basis for Shandong Energy Group.

Chinese biotechnology firm InnoCare Pharma has priced its HK$2.2bn ($288m) IPO at the top of the marketed range, following solid demand from institutional and retail investors, according to bankers close to the deal.

Hong Kong financial services firm Sun Hung Kai & Co has returned to the loan market after nearly four decades for a HK$500m ($64m) deal.

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) has joined a growing number of central banks around the world rushing to solve a problem that is not monetary in nature. Their actions are understandable — but the BoJ offers a clear example of the limits of monetary policy to solve real-world problems.

Malaysia’s Press Metal Aluminium has raised a $300m dual-tranche financing to support its acquisition of Bintan Alumina Indonesia (BAI).

The People’s Bank of China kept the one year medium lending facility (MLF) rate unchanged on Monday, contrary to market expectations.

Yes Bank has written down Rp84.15bn ($1.14bn) of its Basel III compliant additional tier one bonds, becoming the first Indian bank to have its AT1 notes bailed in. The move, together with capital injection from a group of banks led by State Bank of India, is expected to give a much-needed boost to the beleaguered firm’s capital ratio.