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L-Bank has launched its first sterling deal of 2015 and its first new line in the currency in over a year.

Big changes are in store for the Korea Exchange (KRX) as it gets closer to a long-awaited IPO, a move expected to help the bourse compete more effectively with international stock exchanges. But hurdles stand in the way, writes John Loh.

Loans bankers are keeping a close eye on the recent volatility in Chinese stocks and the cautious atmosphere in the Asian bond market. While most said it was too early to assess the impact of either event, they were hoping the skittishness of bond and equity investors might swing the pendulum in favour of syndicated loans, writes Shruti Chaturvedi.

China’s stock markets have gone from being the darling of investors to a ticking time bomb, with nearly $3.5tr in value vaporised in less than a month. Chinese officials have unleashed a torrent of desperate measures almost every day this past week to stem losses, but with little success. Some tough lessons will now have to be learnt, writes Rashmi Kumar.

South Africa firm Naspers surprised some debt bankers by positioning itself to pounce on a calm market, if such a market appears. The company is taking a dollar bond on a roadshow, which would be the first test of EM new issue premiums in almost a month.

Corporate cash piles grew over the course of 2014 and, while they make up a smaller percentage compared to revenues, they are likely to stay high in the future, according to data from Moody’s.

Akbank has closed its ground-breaking three year loan at $275m – only slightly bigger than its initial $250m target – but an accordion feature means this could grow further.

Singaporean chipmaker Stats ChipPac has moved one step closer to restructuring its debt as it prepares for a takeover by Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics Technology (JCET). And a $500m syndicated loan arranged by Barclays, DBS and ING is on the cards as part of the acquisition.

Vistra, the European corporate and fund services provider, is marketing its $700m acquisition loan in New York, after showing the deal to London investors on Wednesday.

Hutchison Whampoa has completed syndication of its £6bn bridge loan for the acquisition of O2 UK. The loan will not be taken out in the bond market until the acquisition is completed.

High yield market participants expect plenty more activity before the summer break, undeterred by the absence, so far, of a long lasting solution to the Greek debt saga.

Nordic Investment Bank found a rich seam of demand in Norwegian kroner this week, enabling it to sell the largest SSA deal of the year in the currency.