Asia Pacific

Equity investors had their fill of block trades in Hong Kong on Thursday, with three completed successfully — and two even managing to raise more than intended.

China Maple Leaf Educational Systems has added HK$1bn ($127.9m) to its coffers after selling a chunk of shares through a top-up placement, capitalising on a recent jump in its stock price.

Hyundai Oilbank, a subsidiary of shipbuilding giant Hyundai Heavy Industries, has appointed six firms to run its potential multi-billion-dollar listing expected later this year.

Westpac attracted substantial demand for its five year sterling floating rate deal on Thursday, with considerable investor liquidity ensuring a particularly attractive cost of funding.

Goldman Sachs has added two senior executives to its investment banking division in Hong Kong who will focus on equity and equity-linked products.

The new boss calls his team into a meeting room and delivers the speech he has spent his life preparing for. It is a moment of rhetorical genius, a rallying cry, a tour de force. Unfortunately, no one understands a word.

Jack Ma, one of the founders of technology giant Alibaba Group Holding, said this week he will seriously consider listing the company in Hong Kong, which has finally approved dual-class share IPOs. It is a sign of what lies ahead for the city’s stock exchange, writes Jonathan Breen.

India’s IL&FS Transportation Networks sold a Rmb900m ($138.21m) offshore renminbi bond on Wednesday, making it the first high yield issuer to seal a deal in the market in more than 16 months.

Ford Automotive Finance (China) is preparing for a Rmb4bn ($614m) deal in the onshore asset-backed securities market – the first by a foreign originator in 2018. But the carmaker is not in the mood for change in the New Year, sticking with the same format it printed in last August.

The equity block trade market is heating up in Hong Kong as shares continue to rally, with banks launching one sole mandate after another.

Chinese property companies bombarded the dollar market this week in an attempt to use their regulatory issuance quotas and seal deals before Chinese New Year. But with more borrowers expected to vie for investor attention, issuers will need to navigate the market carefully — and be ready to pay up. Morgan Davis reports.

Indian loan activity has got off to a steady start, with a large borrowing for companies under the Tata Group, including Tata Steel, due to be mandated shortly. Lacklustre credit demand from Indian firms may become a thing of the past as market participants are betting on a pick-up in momentum from the country this year. Shruti Chaturvedi reports.