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The excitement in the Hong Kong and China equity capital markets since the start of April is showing no signs of abating, with jumbo deals launching and being gobbled up by investors. Bankers are warming to the idea of a buoyant H-share market being the new normal, and anticipate an even more sizzling period ahead, writes Rashmi Kumar.

The International Finance Corp (IFC) is looking to repeat its success of issuing offshore bonds in an Asian local currency, with a sale of up to $1bn-equivalent in Bangladeshi taka, writes Christina Khouri.

Chinese online gaming company Perfect World has lined up two banks to help fund its take-private by chairman Michael Yufeng Chi. It is still unknown whether the $900m loan will go into a wider syndication, but if it does then a turn in sentiment on China and toned down Taiwanese participation could weigh on its prospects, writes Shruti Chaturvedi.

ECM bankers are thanking their lucky stars after the markets exploded into life this month and helped fatten their wallets. But the uptick in business has also provided plenty of chuckles when some issuers go a tad overboard.

Investors could be forgiven for steering clear of English rugby club Wasps’ retail bond, on the basis that investing in sports clubs is a mugs’ game. But this deal is worth a double-take.

Everyone knows the City votes with its wallet, and a Labour government will cost its professionals dear. But the Conservatives threaten its very existence.

Vietnam seems determined to make its capital markets more appealing to an international audience, with a steady stream of changes to investment rules in recent months. A proposal to merge the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchanges is another positive move but Vietnam is in danger of undermining its efforts if the newly enlarged body ends up based in Hanoi.

Until recently, green covered bonds were always more of a theoretical discussion than one that had taken root. But they could be just what the central bank-oppressed market needs.

The past year has seen the rupiah plunge against the US dollar, which means Indonesian corporates face rising costs when it comes to repaying their foreign currency debt. A more sustainable option would be to sell domestic bonds, but the rupiah bond market will need some sprucing up to convince Indonesian issuers to come back home.

As negotiators were busy hammering a provisional deal with Iran’s diplomats over its nuclear facilities, in a bold move, Clawback travelled to the Islamic republic — and returned impressed. The country could well be on the cusp of major changes, but also presents interesting similarities (and differences) with China, writes Philippe Espinasse.

After years of capital reductions, balance sheet reorganizations and strategic exits, GlobalCapital thought it was time to test the market.

The capital markets in Europe appear to be approaching something like the financial equivalent of the singularity, or the point in a black hole where time and space collapse into a single, one-dimensional point where all laws of physics fall apart.