Asia Pacific

China is aligning itself with central banks around the world by giving the People’s Bank of China a leading role in regulating financial markets, Xu Zhong, head of the research bureau at the PBoC, has argued.

India's Tata Steel, which mandated a group of 21 lenders in January for a new loan, has shrunk the size of the fundraising following a blowout bond issuance.

The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) takes control of Anbang Insurance Group amid concerns over its finances, Fullerton Fund Management offers its first private fund in the onshore market, and the renminbi remains the fifth most used payments currency in January 2018.

A new study of green bond pricing has stopped short of saying that green bond issuers can generally expect to get tighter new issue premiums. But the report’s lead author did say: “Green bond buyers can’t expect to receive a new issue premium — that is itself quite a bold statement.”

Overseas Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) had adequate demand to print a €500m five year covered bond on Thursday, and though it was unable to reach the upper end of its size ambitions, it was able to issue the tightest Singaporean covered bond in euros.

The Republic of Turkey is preparing to issue its first Panda bond by the end of the year, having mandated three banks to handle the deal.

MUFG Securities Asia has named Royal Bank of Scotland veteran Pierre Ferland as its new chief executive.

Indian state-owned Punjab National Bank sent shockwaves through the country’s financial system last week when it disclosed a $1.8bn fraud at one of its branches. The timing could not have been worse, with the announcement casting a shadow over other public sector banks, most of which are in dire need of capital, writes Jonathan Breen.

The pipeline for equity capital raisings out of Southeast Asia is filling up nicely, with issuers from the Philippines, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Singapore looking to launch deals.

Indian Railway Finance Corp has turned heads in the loan market with its request for up to $250m of 10 year money. While some market participants balked at the idea of 10 year commercial loans, those at the firm’s main target audience — Japanese banks — think the deal is worth a look. Shruti Chaturvedi reports.

Nomura has created a new global unit to focus on client financing, in a move that combines its investment banking and markets capabilities.

The Government of the Republic of Indonesia’s green sukuk is a game changer for the region, giving a boost to a green sovereign bond market that has so far had scant issuance globally.