Malaysia

Bank of Jinzhou Co has filed afresh for a $600m IPO in Hong Kong, which was delayed in June due to regulatory issues and scrutiny around its loan exposure to the Hanergy Group.

The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) is looking to refine its criteria for the listing of companies in the mineral, oil and gas exploration or extraction (MOG) sectors on its bourse, with the regulator releasing a consultation paper on October 15.

Activity in Asia’s secondary loan market has picked up over the past few months as banks seek to manage their portfolios more efficiently. This is attracting intermediaries such as fixed income specialist SC Lowy, which has set up a par loan trading business in the region. But while there are opportunities, there are also plenty of challenges holding back growth in the nascent market, writes Shruti Chaturvedi.

The Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) is set to welcome the third IPO on its bourse, with state-owned Phnom Penh Autonomous Port (PPAP) scheduled to price a $6.41m listing this month.

The Islamic finance market is looking to welcome its first Chinese participant after Country Garden Holdings this week announced plans to issue a Murabahah sukuk. But the property developer’s currency of choice — the ringgit — suggests that plenty of work is needed for sukuk to gain traction in north Asia, writes Rev Hui.

Asiamoney is pleased to present its choices for Asia’s Best Managed Companies 2015. The winners were the firms that impressed us the most through a combination of factors including innovation, financial performance and strategic execution, and after also surveying the views of regional analysts and investors. Our congratulations to all those chosen.

South Korea's Hotel Lotte has appointed one domestic and two global banks to manage its 2016 IPO.

Axis Bank has begun sounding out lenders for a $274m loan related to Indian pharmaceutical firm Strides Arcolab's recent acquisition in Australia.

Indian pharmaceutical major Biocon, which approached the overseas loan market in July for a $200m loan, has seen five lenders join the syndicate.

RHB Capital has fixed the pricing for its rights offer to raise MR2.5bn ($581.5m), as the bank embarks on an internal restructuring and shores up capital to help meet Basel III requirements.

Cross-border capital raising within Asean is set to become easier following the release of a handbook detailing a streamlined framework for issuers.

Malaysia’s Al-Salām Reit has launched its MR252m ($60m) IPO, with the domestic-only float getting some early interest from Shariah investment focussed funds and investors with links to the property trust’s sponsor.