Asia Pacific

At some point on Christmas Day, after I had polished off several plates of turkey with all the trimmings, six mince pies and half a Christmas pudding, I began to wonder whether or not I was living a healthy lifestyle. I decided that, yes, I probably was.

Standard Chartered has brought a former banker at Citi out of retirement to run its Greater China and North Asian business.

Tata Steel has mandated a clutch of firms to underwrite its Rp128bn ($2bn) rights offering, part of a wider fundraising by the group across the capital markets.

Will 2018 be yet another record year for Asia’s green bond market? The signs were good this week. Swire Properties chose the format for the region’s first dollar bond of the year. Addison Gong reports.

India’s qualified institutional placement (QIP), a popular equity fundraising tool, is about to get a shot in the arm after the regulator said it may be used by companies to meet their free float requirements. Listed firms could tap the market in droves over the next few years as they look to comply with the rules, writes John Loh.

Asia’s leveraged finance bankers started the year hopeful that volumes would pick up. However, US regulators have already undermined those hopes, blocking Ant Financial’s high-profile acquisition of local firm MoneyGram, calling into question the chances of further outbound deals from China. Shruti Chaturvedi reports.

The Indian IPO market has started the new year with a flourish, with the FIG sector looking especially busy as Bandhan Bank and ICICI Securities kicked off investor meetings.

General Atlantic Singapore raised HK$982.2m ($125.6m) on Thursday after upsizing a sale of Xiabuxiabu Catering Management China Holdings stock in Hong Kong’s first block trade of the year, according to a source close to the deal.

Activity in the Hong Kong loan market has made a robust start to the year, with a big loan for Chow Tai Fook entering syndication.

The Chinese regulator’s decision to kick-start a pilot scheme that will allow mainland-based holders of Hong Kong-listed stocks to convert them into H-shares is a big move, with many advantages for both stockholders and the city’s equity market. But it’s not time to crack open the champagne just yet. If the past is any example, progress will be slow at best.

Former Credit Suisse investment banker Byungil Lim will start at UBS next week, taking charge of the bank's South Korean operations, according to a source familiar with matter.

China’s Yingde Gases Group Co has mandated banks for its first dollar bond sale in more than three years.