Singapore

Singapore’s UOB has appointed Eric Lim as its chief sustainability officer, a newly created position to support the bank’s focus on ESG, which got a fresh impetus this week with the sale of the lender’s first sustainability bond.

Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) sold a subordinated perpetual bond in the Singapore dollar market this week, marking its return to the currency after more than a decade, as well as its first perp.

Singapore’s United Overseas Bank sold its debut sustainability bond on Wednesday, raising $1.5bn and notching a number of other firsts with its deal. Morgan Davis reports.

Singapore’s stock exchange has launched a consultation about proposed rules on special purpose acquisition companies.

Natixis makes senior changes to CIB, coverage teams — BofA rejigs Korea leadership

Singapore-listed Manulife US Real Estate Investment Trust has raised a $250m five year sustainability-linked loan from two banks.

Natixis has hired Sanjeev Kumar as its new senior country manager for Singapore, as well as head of southeast and south Asia corporate and investment banking.

Hutchison Port Holdings Trust found strong support for its five year bond on Tuesday, allowing it to raise $500m from a $3bn order book.

Singapore's Clifford Capital returned to the offshore bond market this week to raise $500m.

While European banks have been ducking the covered bond market in favour of central bank liquidity, issuance from the asset class’s newer markets has also been light, but for different reasons. Attention is now on South Korea and Japan, which are seen as the most promising sources of new issuance, according to a senior S&P ratings official.

Singapore's Temasek Holdings and its wholly owned Azalea Asset Management sold the fourth iteration of the Astrea collateralised fund obligation (CFO) this week. They raised more than $450m from the institutional portion of the deal, using a tried-and-tested structure.

A consortium led by Malaysia’s TTL Energy and Engie Asia Pacific, the regional arm of French energy firm Engie, has raised a RM342m ($84m) green loan to support the development of a solar plant in Malaysia.