Asia Pacific

Acleda Bank has kicked off bookbuilding for a Riel380.7bn ($94.4m) IPO, set to be the first on the stock exchange in almost three years.

Indian real estate developer Lodha Developers International offered investors a 14% yield to secure demand for its $200m bond, after being forced to widen pricing from initial guidance.

In this round-up, Covid-19 infections have spread across the world at an alarming speed, the Chinese central bank did not follow its US counterpart to lower interest rates, and the media row between the two countries has deepened.

Metallurgical Corp of China (MCC) took advantage of investors’ desperation for yield and strong credits this week, selling a subordinated perpetual bond worth $400m.

The flow of money into bonds and equities in emerging markets in February slowed to its lowest level since the 'trade tantrum' last August, amid signs that the spread of the coronavirus has prompted a reassessment of country risk.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) on Tuesday slashed rates to a new low of 0.5% in response to the financial impact of the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak. As Aussie dollar rates move lower, the introduction of quantitative easing is on the cards.

Thierry Roland has been picked to lead HSBC’s new RWA Optimisation Unit, where the bank will put assets that do not meet its return requirement.

A trio of South East Asian issuers have visited the Hong Kong dollar market in the last two weeks, as a move in the basis spurred demand. Among the issuers was Korea’s state-owned mining company Korea Resources Corporation (KORES), which made its debut in the currency and in the MTN format on Monday.

SBI Cards and Payment Services was riding high on Thursday after a rush of institutional investor demand pushed its billion-dollar IPO through a coronavirus-driven slump in local and global markets this week. Jonathan Breen reports.

China Hongqiao Group, China Water Affairs Group and Luxshare Precision has returned to the offshore loan market seeking a total of $800m.

China has launched a streamlined system for corporate bond issuance. The move should be applauded — but it further muddies the waters in China’s regulatory system, writes Rebecca Feng.

Volkswagen Finance (China), wholly owned by Volkswagen Financial Services AG, will come to the onshore securitization market for a Rmb5.97bn ($860m) transaction on March 12.