Asia Pacific

Citi has appointed a new head of Thailand corporate and investment banking (CIB), hiring a senior banker from HSBC.

Three Chinese local government financing vehicles (LGFVs) managed to push out last-minute dollar deals before the year end on Tuesday, while property developer Kaisa Group Holdings raised $300m from a 365-day bond at a double-digit yield.

Five countries in Asia are due to hold general elections in 2019, meaning uncertainty for capital markets is likely to be commonplace. With markets already wobbling under global pressures, surprise election results could have catastrophic effects. Bankers and investors should be prepared for a bumpy ride.

Housing Development Finance Corp is taking the Samurai loan route for its second syndicated financing of the year.

Like many recent IPOs in Hong Kong, Chinese telecommunication software provider AsiaInfo Technologies has also priced its listing at the bottom of the indicative range, raising HK$900m ($115m).

Chongqing Nan’an Urban Construction and Development Group Co kept the order book for its dollar bond open for an extra day before raising $300m this week.

Hungary is planning to sell a Rmb2bn ($290m) three year Panda bond on December 17, becoming the first and only sovereign returnee to the market.

The Green Loan Principles (GLP) have been updated to include input from the US industry body the Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA), with the green lending framework now including language about revolving credit facilities.

In part three of our results announcements, we reveal the winning bond deals across a variety of categories. In addition, we also name the Best G3 Bond House, Best Local Currency Bond House, Best High Yield Bond House and the debut winner of the Best House for SRI Financing.

Anta Sports Products has mandated six banks for a €2.2bn loan to back the €4.6bn acquisition of Finnish sports brand Amer Sports Oyj.

Hong Kong-listed natural gas distributor China Gas wrapped up the year with a Rmb1.3bn ($188m) Panda bond, once again raising double its original fundraising target.

Irico Group New Energy is moving ahead with a long-delayed H-share placement that was mooted back in July last year.