Deutsche Bank

The departure of a key southeast Asia banker from a global firm has thrust the region back into the spotlight, with banks battening down the hatches in expectation of a prolonged slump. Recruiters foresee another purge in jobs before the year is out, writes John Loh.

Former Morgan Stanley banker Dave Sandor has been hired by Goldman Sachs as an executive director for equity-linked, filling a vacancy that has existed for some time.

A loan that had been in syndication since April from vehicle parts producer Hyva Global has been signed, with a mix of Asian and Western banks and one institutional investor joining. The deal started out at $295m but wound up at a much slimmer $195m after failing to gather steam amid concerns over the industry and the company’s weak sales in slowing China.

Public sector issuers should hit the market hard later this month — no matter when they expect a US rate rise, said sovereign, supranational and agency bankers.

China’s eHi Car Services has thrown in the towel on its first attempt to issue a maiden dollar bond due to weak demand. Bankers away from the deal and investors say that a combination of bad timing and bad pricing was to blame.

Filipino property firm DM Wenceslao and Associates Inc has filed for a listing to raise $200m, in a deal led by BPI Capital, Citic CLSA Securities, Deutsche Bank and Maybank. The float is expected to go live in the fourth quarter of this year, say bankers.

Lufthansa succeeded on the third attempt at its debut hybrid deal on Tuesday, shrugging off any fears of sleepy summer markets by gathering a more than three times subscribed book for the trade.

More German Laender could look to print in euros after an encouraging show from investors for a four year syndication from Lower Saxony on Tuesday.

The Asia ex Japan bond market was crowded on August 4 with Oceanwide Holdings and eHi opening books for respective dollar bonds, and Export Development Canada (EDC) and HNA Tourism opting for offshore renminbi (CNH) offerings.

Chinese banks now hold four of the top five spots in SNL Financial’s ranking of the world’s largest banks, while Europe’s global footprint is shrinking.

Deutsche Bank’s head of investment banking advisory and coverage for southeast Asia, Parvati Banati, has exited the German lender, according to sources.

The European Investment Bank added another deal to its recent burst of issuance in euros on Monday, as a German state mandated banks for a €500m August 2019 deal.