India

Cigarette maker Philip Morris flagged off pre-deal investor education for an up to Rph26.70tr ($1.92bn) follow-on transaction in its Indonesian subsidiary HM Sampoerna on September 2, with the process set to run for two weeks.

The Indian government scored a big coup last week, selling a stake in Indian Oil Corp (IOC) on a day when markets globally were roiling in volatility. But the fact that it relied on the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) to push the deal through is wrong, and casts a shadow on the country’s divestment programme.

Sadbhav Infrastructure Project is poised to close its Rp4.9bn ($74m) IPO on September 2, safe in the knowledge that more than 40% of the deal has been taken up by anchor investors.

India’s Prabhat Dairy is paying no heed to the recent volatility in the country's equity capital markets, forging ahead with its Rp5.2bn ($78m) IPO at a huge premium over industry peers.

Several former bankers from Royal Bank of Scotland have joined new institutions recently, as the UK firm continues to dismantle a large part of its Asia business.

Infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs) have failed to gain any sort of traction in India since the asset class was introduced last year to reduce the funding pressure on infrastructure projects. In response, the country launched a new consultation on August 20 in a bid to improve the framework but unless several tax and structural issues are fixed, interest in the asset class is unlikely to pick up.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has decided to lift the lid on the maximum number of anchor investors that can be allocated shares in an IPO, according to a statement from the regulator.

There was a tense finish to the Indian government’s Rp93.96bn ($1.42bn) divestment of its stake in Indian Oil Corp (IOC), with books only covered just before the transaction was due to close thanks to late bids from state-owned insurers.

National Bank of Abu Dhabi has appointed an ex-Royal Bank of Scotland banker to helm the financial institutions group for India. The Middle Eastern bank is building out its team in Mumbai, with a view to solidify and expand corporate relationships in India.

Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries is understood to be close to choosing the mandated lead arranger and bookrunner group for a loan that will refinance a $1.5bn facility it raised three years ago.

Frankfurt-listed Snowbird, a Chinese down manufacturer, has cancelled plans to seek a secondary listing in Singapore, amid a wave of panic selling that has gripped stock markets this week.

Regulators in Pakistan are close to signing a memorandum of understanding to merge the country’s three stock exchanges, in a move aimed at consolidating trading volumes and issuers onto a single platform.