Singapore

In this round up, sluggish economic data indicates growth headwinds, the Philippines eyes a Panda bond in April and USD/CNH futures trading volumes on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) hits record level.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is considering making covered bonds eligible for repo, but Singapore dollar issuance would probably be needed, delegates at the Euromoney/ECBC Asian Covered Bond Forum heard this week. Domestic currency issuance would improve the resilience of Singapore’s banking system and potentially encourage other banks to set up programmes.

United Overseas Bank (UOB) became the first Singaporean issuer to sell a Panda bond this week, raising Rmb2bn ($298m) from a three year deal. Rebecca Feng reports.

United Overseas Bank has made its first appearance in the Panda bond market, selling a Rmb2bn ($297.8m) three year deal.

GLP has closed a Rmb3.3bn ($490m) nine year Panda bond, after scrapping an earlier plan to sell a dual-tranche deal.

Private equity firm Platinum Equity is about to close the senior syndication for a $165m borrowing to support its acquisition of Singapore’s PCI.

Singapore-based internet company Sea has raised $1.35bn after boosting the size of a follow-on offering of American Depository Shares (ADS).

Goldman's Richdale joins KKR – JPM hires Wong from BofA – Fubon recruits from ANZ loans – Natixis names head of PB – Deutsche promotes two for sponsors – ABN opens shop in Australia – MSCI backs China A-shares

Singapore-based internet company Sea is planning to issue a new chunk of its US-listed equity, according to a filing with the regulator.

French investment bank Natixis has promoted one of its own to helm private bank and family office coverage for the region.

In this round-up, China’s benchmark CSI300 index saw its biggest daily rise in three years after trade negotiations and deleveraging boosted investor sentiment, service imports and exports rose in 2018 and a Bloomberg survey indicated Hong Kong and Singapore investors are optimistic on Chinese onshore bonds.

Insurance Australia Group (IAG) has launched the first catastrophe bond out of Singapore, as the Lion City seeks to become a hub for insurance-linked securities (ILS) by offering grants to issuers.