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Infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs) have failed to gain any sort of traction in India since their introduction last year to reduce the funding pressure on infrastructure projects. Several tax and structural issues impeded the progress of the asset class, but things could soon improve if the government implements recommendations from a new consultation paper.

Everbright Securities Co navigated cautious market on its first outing to the dollar bond market thanks to the presence of anchors orders and a standby letter of credit (SBLC) from China Merchants Bank’s Shanghai branch. As the first BBB rated SBLC backed trade, it has set a benchmark for future issues.

More currency volatility and a shaky stock market may look scary, but the trend for foreign ownership of Chinese securities is up. Standing at just 2% of the Chinese market, further reforms can only boost the quota of Chinese equities and bonds in global portfolios, according to banks and asset managers.

HSBC has been mandated as the sole offshore RMB concentration bank for LME Clear, clearing house for the London Metal Exchange (LME), which accepted the offshore renminbi (CNH) as eligible cash collateral earlier this month. The bank has told GlobalRMB that the initiative shows the growing prominence of RMB in commodities markets.

Sri Lanka’s growth over the past couple of years has been nothing short of exceptional, following the end of an almost three decades-long civil war. But the positivity has faded somewhat this year. Market participants say the country must now clear up its political troubles if it is to truly fulfil its potential. Rev Hui reports.

Vietnam is working fervently to open its markets, turning things up a notch in August by signing a landmark free trade agreement with the European Union. The country’s transformation from a nation ravaged by war to one of Asia’s biggest success stories is impressive, but more reforms are critical if it wants to have a real chance at becoming the next tiger economy. Rashmi Kumar reports.

Philippine bank supervisors, like their counterparts elsewhere, face a complex and often thankless task. But unlike regulators in many other countries, they also face the risk of being taken to court and suspended from their jobs if banks decide to bite back. The problem is a longstanding one, but it is finally starting to be addressed, as Matthew Thomas reports.

SSA bankers are calling on the European Stability Mechanism to make a bold statement about the health of the euro market with the first trade of its freshly increased funding programme. But the beneficiary of that cash has thrust volatility back on to the agenda.

Public sector benchmark issuance in dollars is on course for a record August, as deals flew out the gates after KommuneKredit reopened the currency despite the market being short of top strength.

The brutal sell-off that afflicted Brazilian bonds in July appears to have slowed somewhat amid the low trading volumes of August, though economic bad news and political troubles show no sign of abating.

Though this month has been one the quietest Augusts in the memory of many Latin America bankers, Peru was correct to anticipate US rate rises by issuing its first new dollar benchmark since 2010 on Tuesday, they said.

Public sector borrowers have been seizing opportunities in the private medium term note market this week, following a burst of demand for short dated paper.