Singapore

DBS Bank in Singapore this week issued its first deal in Australian dollars, the first covered bond from an Asian lender and the first benchmark sized Kangaroo covered bond of the year.

ABN Amro has given Brian McGirr a new role as head of debt solutions for Asia, and also named two internal transfers to his team.

China Huarong Asset Management and Midea Group are out with their respective dollar offerings while France’s BPCE is attracting bids for a Singapore dollar-denominated Basel III tier two.

Singapore Exchange (SGX) said it has entered into exclusive discussions with the Baltic Exchange for a possible cash offer for 100% of the shipping-based bourse.

ABN Amro has promoted Brian McGirr as head of debt solutions for Asia, alongside two internal transfers who will join his team.

Chinese property developer Powerlong Real Estate Holdings has inked a $120m term loan with three banks to refinance its existing notes.

Property developer Frasers Centrepoint has begun investor education for a real estate investment trust IPO that could raise up to S$900m ($652.1m), according to a source close to the deal.

UniCredit has appointed Amit Dewan to the newly created position of head of financing and advisory for Asia Pacific, furthering bolstering the bank’s operations in the region.

Singapore's DBS is looking to expand its covered bond investor base and has now set its sights on an Australian dollar offering.

The Singapore dollar bond market has been dominated by financial and corporate subordinated debt in recent weeks with transactions worth S$2.64bn ($1.9bn) sold since the start of May. While the swap driven nature of the demand means issuance will be patchy, bankers believe this trend could run for some time, writes Rev Hui.

Canada’s Manulife Financial Corp and Singapore’s Mapletree Logistics Trust have added their names to the growing list of issuers accessing the Singapore dollar market for subordinated debt. And thanks to the comeback of private banks in the country, more issuers — both foreign and local — are expected to follow suit, reckon syndicate bankers.

BlackRock has named Justin Ferrier as managing director of the Asian private credit platform, as the investment manager seeks to fill the gap left by banks withdrawing from traditional lending, it said in a press release on Tuesday.