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The Islamic capital markets and Shariah-compliant insurance have so far developed somewhat separately. Linking the two markets by using Islamic insurance for sukuk could breathe fresh vigour into both markets.

The recent US Treasury volatility has hit emerging market bonds hard, but worse in dollars than in euros. Should CEEMEA borrowers therefore turn now to the euro market? The time for that push is not here yet, but it could come soon.

Shuanghui International’s $4bn loan to support its acquisition of Smithfield Foods is getting plenty of heat from bankers in Asia, who dislike the deal’s structure. Their concerns are legitimate, but it is time they stopped complaining and prepared to step out of their comfort zones.

A week after a Portuguese political crisis is not the most obvious time for Spain to sell a 15 year syndicated bond issue, especially when it has not done a syndication for months. But that is what it has done, and rightly so. To delay the deal would have been tempting fate.

The continuation of global market volatility, primarily stemming from US data, could force India to remove its government bond trading band temporarily, say experts.

Korea Finance Corporation distributed a request for proposal on July 8 for its first euro-denominated bond to take advantage of improving basis swaps, according to a treasury official at the government-owned financial institution.

Findus, the fish and frozen food company, has announced plans for a £410m-equivalent debut high yield bond . The five year senior secured notes will comprise sterling, euro and Swedish krona tranches and will refinance all Findus's loans.

The Russian sovereign is a notoriously inflexible and aggressive issuer — but a much sought-after client. It has yet to pull the trigger on its 2013 bond issue but could press ahead soon, betting on further US Treasury rate rises, or hold off, in anticipation of a fall. Francesca Young looks at how the country will deal with the challenge of EM volatility.

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision is looking to allay concerns that the Basel III framework is too complex, and it is examining the comparability of capital adequacy ratios across banks and jurisdictions.

In recognition of growing usage of mobile devices to read news, we are launching an app to allow readers to access ASIAMONEY magazine and online articles on the iPhone and iPad.

The four banks are deemed most popular by corporates and financial institutions, breaking Citi’s recent dominance.

The UK bank’s Peter Szekely and Aaron Russell-Davison take on senior capital markets roles in Southeast Asia following the departure of staff in Singapore.