Asia Pacific

Workers of the world’s capital markets united this week in efforts to keep the funding flowing as the threat of the Covid-19 coronavirus advances. Roadshows, mandate pitches and even quotidian office life faced emergency changes as embattled financiers braced themselves and their businesses for virus disruption.

Market participants should be braced for political volatility as the world comes close to experiencing a pandemic.

HSBC and Standard Chartered are expecting lower profits and higher loan impairments this year due to the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak and an economic downturn in Hong Kong.

JPM picks Apac CEO — Natixis gets CIB coverage lead — StanChart’s Hsu exits — UBS, CS hire for research — Companies plan restructurings amid Covid-19 — Fidelity makes senior appointment

Chinese brokerage Shenwan Hongyuan Securities is out for a one-year bridge loan, seeking HK$3bn ($385m) for its international loan market debut.

“What's in a name?” wrote Shakespeare. “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” A banker tried applying a similar philosophy last week. It wasn’t quite so poetic.

Perpetual tenors were in favour this week as four borrowers from Greater China sealed perps in a yield-hungry environment.

SBI Cards and Payments Services, a State Bank of India subsidiary, set the final price range for its IPO, putting proceeds of up to Rp103.5bn ($1.44bn) in reach for when it launches the deal next week.

Artificial intelligence company Megvii Technology’s IPO prospectus expired on Tuesday. But despite delaying the deal, the firm intends to resubmit a listing application, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Chinese travel services provider Trip.com Group is seeking a $1.2bn loan at a time when markets are reeling from the rapid spread of the coronavirus outside the mainland and companies are assessing the impact of the epidemic on their businesses. Despite difficult market conditions, the borrower has received plenty of interest for the deal. Pan Yue reports.

Bank of China took Covid-19-linked bonds offshore on Thursday with a dual currency two year transaction, which was offered through its Macau branch.

Standard Chartered-backed China Bohai Bank is planning a listing in Hong Kong, having filed a draft prospectus on Wednesday.