Asia Pacific

Chinese central government-owned China National Travel Service Group Corp (CNTS) made a quick return to the dollar bond market this week, extending its maturity profile with a $600m dual-tranche transaction.

India's Vedanta, Syndicate Bank make loan comeback — Shanghai Sinnoil defaults on $400m loan — Fullerton allocates $250m among 17 banks — Lesso closes $1.1bn refi — Indorent holds non-deal roadshows

How much work have Asian banks put in to get ready for the end of Libor on December 31, 2021? Senior bankers in the region tend to respond to this question with shrugs, caveats and equivocations. It is clear, they admit privately, that not much progress has been made.

Citi has made Peter Babej, head of its financial institutions group, its new chief executive officer in Asia Pacific, looking outside the region for a replacement of former boss Francisco Aristeguieta.

Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) raised $600m on Wednesday from a combination of fixed and floating rate notes.

Sri Lanka’s deputy central bank governor, P Nandalal Weerasinghe, tells GlobalMarkets that claims it had fallen into a Chinese debt trap are “rubbish”, pointing out that loans from the Asian giant were lower than those from some multilateral development banks

Ma Jun, a green activist who also sits on the monetary policy committee of the Chinese central bank, tells GlobalMarkets that multilateral development banks need to focus on risk mitigation, reduce the risk of default on demonstration projects and help local banks deliver more lending if they want to deliver on financing green infrastructure

Heavy debt burdens are forcing African countries to either renegotiate loan terms with China, or ask for debt forgiveness, with some blaming China’s lack of attention to debt sustainability.

A new report claims that Taiwan has over a $100bn of hidden dollar reserves — more than enough for the US Treasury to classify the Asian country a currency manipulator if it wanted to. But given Taiwan’s strained relationship with China, the US might be prepared to look the other way

China’s Greater Bay Area has become a focus area for bankers, corporations and regulators. Ma Jun, one of China’s most prominent experts on green financing, thinks it could also become a green hub.

The Securities and Futures Commission’s chief executive officer Ashley Alder is set to step down in September next year.

Fullerton India has closed its $250m-equivalent borrowing after 14 participants joined the three bookrunners during syndication.