Last year was anything but easy for Asia’s capital markets.
After a solid start to 2021, corporations, banks and investors had to navigate a turbulent second half. Whether it was the tightening regulatory environment in China that wiped out trillions of dollars from the region’s equity market, or the still-simmering financial crisis in the Chinese property sector, or the dwindling number of international IPOs from mainland firms, capital market observers had to contend with them all.
But for every bleak event, there were also turnaround stories.
Indian technology firms started to come into their own in 2021, with some landmark IPOs executed, while the Korean equity market was on fire with record IPO volumes.
In debt capital markets, ESG-related financing went from being niche and nice-to-have to a must-have mainstream tool among issuers, despite growing concerns around greenwashing quickly emerging.
In loans too, the conventional bank-driven market got some much-needed innovation in 2021, with term loan Bs rising in popularity, leverage ratios on buyout deals hitting new levels, and more structured deals making their way to the market.
Throughout all this, international and Asian banks continued doing what they do best: offering timely advice to their clients to help them navigate the volatility; providing tailor-made solutions to meet their financing needs; and innovating and embracing new structures to grow the region’s capital markets further.
All of that has been showcased in GlobalCapital’s winning deals and banks of 2021. Our annual Asia and China awards recognise issuers that have made their mark across debt capital markets, equity capital markets, loan syndication and investment banking, by selling innovative or ground-breaking deals in their market.
The awards also recognise the banks that stood out from the crowd for their bold calls, astute reading of the market, their ability to support their core clients and swiftly adapt their businesses to the rapidly changing market backdrop.
GlobalCapital received more than 130 deal, house and issuer submissions from over 30 banks — global and Asian — for the 2021 awards. The submissions spanned ECM, DCM, loan syndication, investment banking and our China-focused set of awards.
Our decisions were made based on pitch documents submitted by banks, followed by in-depth discussions and meetings conducted by our team of journalists with market participants in October and November 2021.
We thank all the participants for their submissions and for taking the time to explain their businesses to the GlobalCapital team. Congratulations to all the winners.
For the full list of the Asia awards winners: CLICK HERE
For the full list of the China awards winners: CLICK HERE
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