Asia Pacific

The local government has thrown a lifeline to Qinghai Provincial Investment Group Co, helping it pay off a dollar bond coupon a week after it was due. But more looming payment deadlines are set to cause the company a headache. Addison Gong reports.

The onshore renminbi plunged to 7.17 against the dollar by noon on Thursday from the previous week’s close at 7.07. While much of the loss was a result of a spike in tensions between the US and China, analysts and bankers are also blaming the mainland’s looser FX intervention policies and growing distrust of US president Donald Trump’s comments. Rebecca Feng reports.

The Philippine IPO market will receive a big boost in September as two companies prepare to launch their transactions after getting regulatory approval.

Switzerland-based UBS Group has priced its second Singapore dollar-denominated Basel III-compliant additional tier one (AT1) bond in just nine months, taking advantage of a rally in its deal from last November.

BNP Paribas has shut down its offshore banking unit in the Philippines, according to the country’s central bank.

DCM bankers in Asia have used a quiet August to prepare new bond deals for next month. But despite most bankers’ optimism that the coming weeks will be busy, many believe the second half of 2019 will be quiet compared with the same time last year as the market gets battered by volatility. Morgan Davis reports.

Foreign banks can now get a licence to act as lead underwriters for all deals in China’s domestic interbank bond market, signalling a further opening up of the Mainland’s financial market. But these licences will only make a marginal difference to a bank’s business.

The first IPO on the Bombay Stock Exchange’s new startup board is fully covered. Indian software consulting company Alphalogic Techsys has raised Rp61.8m ($862,000) from the listing.

Louis Dreyfus Asia has boosted the size of its annual borrowing to $650m from $500m after receiving commitments from 31 lenders.

Natixis has relocated London-based Kwong-Wing Law to Hong Kong to be its infrastructure finance head for Asia Pacific.

Freeport Indonesia, a mining company that was acquired by Asahan Aluminium (Inalum) last year, is in talks with 10 banks for a $3bn term loan for its capital expenditure.

A trio of European agencies and a supranational all priced taps at the long end of the Kangaroo curve last week, with tenures ranging from nine to 12 years. Yields on these notes have fallen compared to previous taps, as the Kangaroo market feels the effects of the global bond rally.