Citi

Chinese search engine company Baidu is tapping the Asian syndicated loan market for the first time, opening a $1bn dual-trancher to lenders. It is offering close to what peers paid on recent loans, despite its more concentrated business model, but there is speculation it could be lining up an acquisition, writes Shruti Chaturvedi.

Buzzi Unicem, the Italian cement and concrete group, is planning a European-targeted bond issue to tackle €510m of debt maturities this year.

Appetite for Korea Resources Corp’s offshore outing on Monday was strong despite Moody’s recent decision to review its rating for a downgrade. Not only was the issuer able to increase the bond’s size to $500m but it also found a high quality order book.

India’s Larsen & Toubro refiled a draft prospectus for the listing of its information technology (IT) services arm on Tuesday, this time eyeing a smaller deal worth about Rp13bn ($196m).

China’s Orient Securities Co is set to test market appetite for brokerages as it tees up a Hong Kong IPO of as much as $1.5bn. Its filing with the exchange comes at a time when the market environment for the sector looks good amid a broader improvement in sentiment, write Jonathan Breen and John Loh.

Bank of China Aviation is poised to meet investors ahead of its 144A return that could hit the market as early as next week, while HK Electric has mandated banks for Reg S notes.

Citi has created a new position of head of corporate banking for Asia Pacific, naming Gerry Keefe to the role.

South Korea’s Kia Motors Corp has started taking orders for a 144A/Reg S deal, which is split between a five year and a 10 year tranche.

Aroundtown Property Holdings, the Paris- and Frankfurt-listed company that invests in German property turnrounds, has extended the deadline on an incentivised conversion offer for its €450m pre-IPO convertible until Thursday evening.

A trio of public sector borrowers comfortably printed at the long end of the euro curve on Wednesday, but the deals suggested a slowdown in demand after a bumper April for the currency.

Yunnan Provincial Energy Investment Group is looking to issue its first dollar bond and has hired banks to set up investor meetings.

Empresa Eléctrica Angamos, the Chilean power generation company, will buy back at least $187m of its senior secured notes due 2029 as part of a tender offer but extended the early bird deadline and increased the maximum size in a bid to entice more investors to offer up their holdings.