Asia Pacific

Swedish car manufacturer Volvo made its debut in Hong Kong dollars on Wednesday amid increasing tensions and unrest in the city.

The Hong Kong securities watchdog has banned former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Leissner from working in the city’s financial industry ever again for his involvement in the 1MDB multi-billion-dollar money laundering scheme.

Credit Suisse has poached UBS research veteran Erica Poon Werkun to head equity research for Asia Pacific, according to an internal memo seen by GlobalCapital Asia.

Korea Development Bank (KDB) tapped the green investor base in Europe for its latest euro bond, achieving a record low funding cost and an unprecedented 0% coupon for a South Korean issuer.

South Korea’s green and sustainable bond market is thriving this year. The country is already streets ahead of its peer China, with its sovereign printing a green deal and issuers embracing new twists on these financings. That forward-thinking mentality is just the beginning.

Tsinghua Tongfang Co has priced a smaller $300m deal, as investors appeared cautious amid an ongoing share sale. Yuzhou Properties and Shandong Guohui Investment Co returned to the market and saw big order books, the latter fueled by lead manager interest.

India’s Tata Sponge Iron, a subsidiary of multinational Tata Steel, has opened books for a Rp16.5bn ($240m) rights share offering.

China’s Edvantage Group opened books for a HK$805m ($103m) float on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) on Wednesday.

The G20 meeting in Japan ended as well as those in markets could have expected. The US and China may have agreed to delay additional tariffs against the other but none were removed either. Investors are beginning to plan for a more sustained period of hostility between the two countries.

Bank of America has appointed former Asia capital markets head Peter Guenthardt as co-head of Asia Pacific investment banking, according to an internal memo seen by GlobalCapital Asia.

Standby letters of credit in Asia have come into the spotlight after China Construction Bank paid off bondholders on behalf of China Minsheng Investment Group (CMIG), marking the first time this structure has been tested.

India’s securities watchdog has approved the issuance of shares that carry weighted-voting rights, allowing for a company’s shareholders to have different voting powers.