India

India’s Varroc Engineering has hired a trio of banks to lead an IPO timed for the first half of the year, according to a source close to the deal.

The response to Tata Motors' £640m ($839m) refinancing has been phenomenal, with the loan generating commitments exceeding $1bn, said bankers close to the situation.

India’s IL&FS Transportation Networks is laying the groundwork for the first offshore renminbi bond of the year, mandating banks on Friday.

Idea Cellular’s board of directors has given it the go-ahead to raise up to Rp67.5bn ($1.1bn) in fresh capital, according to an exchange filing.

Standard Chartered has brought a former banker at Citi out of retirement to run its Greater China and North Asian business.

Tata Steel has mandated a clutch of firms to underwrite its Rp128bn ($2bn) rights offering, part of a wider fundraising by the group across the capital markets.

India’s qualified institutional placement (QIP), a popular equity fundraising tool, is about to get a shot in the arm after the regulator said it may be used by companies to meet their free float requirements. Listed firms could tap the market in droves over the next few years as they look to comply with the rules, writes John Loh.

Asia’s leveraged finance bankers started the year hopeful that volumes would pick up. However, US regulators have already undermined those hopes, blocking Ant Financial’s high-profile acquisition of local firm MoneyGram, calling into question the chances of further outbound deals from China. Shruti Chaturvedi reports.

The Indian IPO market has started the new year with a flourish, with the FIG sector looking especially busy as Bandhan Bank and ICICI Securities kicked off investor meetings.

India’s Tata Steel has issued indicative pricing for a borrowing totalling $2.15bn, which will mainly refinance debt at its Singaporean and Dutch units.

A $350m-equivalent yen denominated borrowing for Indian power financier National Thermal Power Corp (NTPC) has entered primary syndication, testing the market’s appetite for a 10 year maturity.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) will allow listed companies to sell shares through qualified institutional placements as a way to meet free float requirements.