Asia Pacific

Chinese policy banks and corporations are planning to sell renminbi bonds onshore to battle the coronavirus outbreak, using the capital markets as a source of key funding during a challenging time for the financial industry.

The US Federal Reserve board has permanently banned Andrea Vella, formerly a senior executive at Goldman Sachs, from the banking industry for his role in the 1Malaysia Development (1MDB) scandal.

Pakistan’s stock exchange has called for public comment on the potential IPOs of Air Link Communications and TPL Trakker.

Asia's dollar bond market reopened on Wednesday amid volatility around the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus. But debt bankers in the region are cautiously optimistic about the state of the market.

China Bright Culture Group, an independent television producer, has got the go-ahead from Hong Kong’s stock exchange to launch its IPO.

A fall in equity markets last week reflected an automatic reaction to the possibility of a new global pandemic. But the more substantial effect of the coronavirus outbreak on equities may be reflected in economic performance, rather than the rate of contagion.

The Japan Finance Organisation for Municipalities printed the first deal from its budding green bond programme on Tuesday, impressing onlookers with a large book and aggressive price move. The trade shared the market with a social housing bond from Cassa Depositi e Prestiti.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has given the go-ahead for trading in rupee futures and options, allowing the development of offshore markets in the products.

Three substantial block trades re-opened the EMEA blocks market with a bang on Monday. The deals in French payments company Worldline, London-listed airline Wizz Air and Swiss testing laboratories company SGS totalled about $4.7bn equivalent and showed that equity capital markets have largely recovered from fears over the spread of coronavirus, which weighed on issuance volumes last week.

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus in China is taking its toll on Asia's capital markets. Many countries have acted quickly to contain the disease as much as possible, leaving investors, bankers and companies with capital market ambitions in limbo, with many forced to cancel travel plans and work from home. The outbreak shows no signs of abating — but it may not mar the capital markets for long.

Chinese biotechnology firm Akesobio has resubmitted its IPO documents with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, two months after the bourse rejected its original listing application.

Hong Kong’s stock exchange is looking to put artificial intelligence technology to use for reviewing disclosures by listed companies.