Asia Pacific

HSBC has named Mukhtar Hussain, chief executive of the bank in Malaysia, to the newly created position of head of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) for Asia Pacific.

OneConnect, a subsidiary of Chinese conglomerate Ping An Group, has begun preparing for a Hong Kong listing this year, according to a source close to the transaction.

The US president says China will lower trade barriers and make a deal with Washington, the recently merged banking and insurance watchdog officially launches, and Vanguard makes five exchange-traded funds (ETFs) available in RMB and dollars in Hong Kong.

Qualitas Medical is likely to price its S$100m ($77m) IPO in Singapore at the low end of guidance after bookbuilding was extended by two days.

Beijing and Washington raised the stakes in a trade stand-off with new tariffs, the chief executive of Hong Kong’s stock exchange remains upbeat despite the launch of Chinese depository receipts (CDRs) and Bank of China’s cross-border RMB index ends 2017 on the up.

Indian power financier National Thermal Power Corp (NTPC) has closed its $350m-equivalent yen-denominated borrowing, attracting eight Japanese participants.

South Korea’s GS Caltex Corp sealed a Swiss franc denominated bond on Thursday, diversifying away from its usual Korean won and US dollar funding.

Wise Talent Technology Services Co, the operator of Chinese online recruitment platform Liepin.com, has set the ball rolling for an IPO in Hong Kong.

Bank BRISyariah is out with Indonesia’s first chunky IPO of the year, launching an up to Rph1.7tr ($123.4m) share sale.

Peking University Founder Group Co, BOC Aviation and Yuexiu Property Co are meeting investors for their upcoming bond plans, while China National Chemical Corp’s Swiss subsidiary Syngenta is also gearing up for a mega deal.

China Resources Land bagged Rmb4bn ($635.7m) from a two tranche Panda bond on Wednesday, marking its fifth outing in the market. But the issuer had to change tack at the last minute after investor demand built up for the longer-dated note.

Crystal Crop Protection has filed for a Rp10bn ($150m) flotation in India that will raise both primary and secondary equity.