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Last October Promsvyazbank signed a loan that its chief executive officer Artem Konstandian told GlobalCapital was the “easiest deal in our history”. A year on and the bank is back — but if it gets a loan away it could be the hardest financing Promsvyazbank will ever raise.

Dollar loans out of Asia ex-Japan have taken a massive tumble in the third quarter, falling 40% compared to the same period last year. The figures are certainly dismal, but it’s not time to hit the panic button just yet. All the signs are that the next few months will be promising for loans.

Views from KGI Securities, HSBC, Nomura, ABN Amro

Thailand's corporate bond market has defied recent political uncertainty by continuing its strong growth this year, and now looks on track to break issuance records. But there is still plenty more room for improvement in the local market. Bonds still play a minor role for many corporations, which are often able to meet all their funding needs from bank loans. They also cause headaches for many investors, who complain about limited secondary liquidity. Asiamoney gathered a roster of high-profile issuers, investors, bankers and analysts to talk about the current state of the market — and find out where it is heading in the next few years.

The government has instigated state-owned enterprise reform in an effort to improve the efficiency of the companies, reduce corruption and bolster economic growth. It’s a bold round of initiatives, but is unlikely to fundamentally change the management structure or operations of its biggest companies. Richard Morrow reports.

Blog thought most bankers working in the sovereign debt market would have been rejoicing as the No votes piled up when the results from the Scottish independence came in the wee small hours of Friday morning. After all, trying to explain the new constitutional setup of Scotland and the rest of the UK to overseas investors would be pretty difficult, especially considering none of the politicians seemed to know what it was supposed to look like either. Not to mention trying to work out which entity exactly would be on the hook for different parts of the UK’s debt pile.

The Inter-American Development Bank this week offered a break from green bonds in the public sector sustainable and responsible capital markets, bringing a debut socially themed benchmark dedicated to funding projects in education, youth and employment.

Hong Kong's first typhoon of the year finally arrived this week, so I was sure many of my pals would be settling themselves into the Captain’s Bar for an extended stint. The mere hint of a typhoon would always guarantee a mammoth drinking session into the early hours, as even if the warning was lowered the next day, there would be little risk of having to do any real work.

The sudden collapse at the weekend of UK phone retailer and high yield bond issuer Phones 4U has provoked a vigorous round of mud-slinging. So far, not much has stuck to the bondholders, but they are still culpable.

The Indian ECM market is set for a busy few months with a pipeline of government-led divestments teed up to hit investors soon, and the country in danger of meeting its target for once. But while some argue the government is not moving fast enough to reduce its fiscal deficit, slow and steady will prove to be the best strategy.

The leaders of the UK’s three main political parties have signed a pledge guaranteeing extra powers for the Scottish parliament if the country votes against independence at a referendum on Thursday. But that leaves people in England facing the prospect of even more decisions being taken by politicians that do not represent them. The Westminster elite should provide the English with some guarantees of their own.

The South Africa sukuk might well go fine, but that doesn’t mean it was a good idea. The country is in no position to pay away basis points for spurious long term diversification benefits, and has no ambition to build a domestic Islamic finance market.