Singapore

Manulife US Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) has rejigged the syndicate for its planned $400m IPO in Singapore, with JP Morgan no longer among the banks working on the deal.

The Asia ex-Japan bank capital market sprang back to life this week as United Overseas Bank (UOB) completed the first-dollar denominated trade in the region this year. The deal's strong reception bodes well for those looking to follow but market participants have predicted another lacklustre year in term of volumes, writes Rev Hui.

Perennial Real Estate is wooing Singapore dollar bond investors, having opened books for a three year trade on Thursday.

Hutchison China MediTech’s (Chi-Med) $100m IPO on the Nasdaq has been oversubscribed three days into bookbuilding, according to sources close to the transaction.

United Overseas Bank started receiving bids for a tier two offering on Wednesday in what is the year's first dollar bank capital deal from Asia ex-Japan.

Singapore’s OUE Hospitality Trust is carrying out an underwritten and renounceable rights issue worth S$238.6m ($171.4m) as it seeks to raise funds for an airport hotel purchase.

Singapore real estate firm Ascendas ventured into the country’s domestic bond market on Monday with a S$100m ($72.8m) offering that was largely driven by reverse enquiry.

In this round-up: Hong Kong cross-border trade settlement fell again at the start of the year, RMB deposits were steady in Hong Kong but falling in Singapore, Brics New Development Bank will set up in Shanghai, and PBoC said a swap line with Bank of Russia had been activated. Plus, a recap of our top stories this week.

Ford Motor Credit Company made its debut in the Singapore dollar bond market this week with a S$350m ($251m) transaction that investors were more than happy to put their money into.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has flagged up issues about banks’ credit underwriting practices, including cases of covenant waivers and one off-credit exceptions given to borrowers. But while the central banks’ concerns are valid, bankers reckon lenders are being more than careful about their syndications business. Shruti Chaturvedi reports.

A rarely seen product is set to return to the Asian securitization market with fixed income specialist SC Lowy and UOB Asset Management (UOBAM) gearing up for a $400m collateralized loan obligation (CLO). The transaction will be the first non-bank originated Asian CLO in years, but the structured finance community is sceptical about the market’s potential, writes Rev Hui.

The Singapore Exchange (SGX) has been one of Asia’s most proactive bourses in finding ways to improve its business, but some market participants are worried that it is out of touch. Chew Sutat, SGX’s head of equities and fixed income, told GlobalCapital Asia that there is a gap between perception and reality. John Loh reports.