South Asia

HG Infra Engineering is planning to launch its Rp4.7bn ($72.4m) IPO in India at the end of February.

China’s FX watchdog loosens its grip on FX forward settlement, HSBC becomes the first foreign bank to handle an individual RMB remittance transaction following a rule change in January and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stopped an attempt by Chinese investors to acquire the Chicago Stock Exchange.

Indian state-owned Canara Bank has appointed a five-strong syndicate group to run a potential Rp45bn ($695.7m) qualified institutional placement (QIP), according to a senior banker on the deal.

Idea Cellular has raised Rp35bn ($541.8m) from a qualified institutional placement (QIP) as it prepares for a mega merger with the Indian unit of network carrier giant Vodafone.

Indian Railway Finance Corp has approached offshore lenders for a financing of up to $250m-equivalent in Japanese yen. But the company may struggle to generate demand from maturity-shy Japanese lenders, said a banker familiar with the deal.

India’s PNB Housing Finance is preparing to make its debut in the offshore rupee bond market and has turned to the International Finance Corp (IFC) to make sure the deal goes off without a hitch.

Flemingo Travel Retail has filed a draft red herring prospectus with India’s stock market regulator. The company plans to go public using a mix of new and existing shares.

A hardening of the US attitude to Iran, tensions with Turkey and the Qatari crisis may be closing some doors for trade in the Middle East but experts are convinced it is opening others, with China's One Belt, One Road initiative pushing countries such as China, India and Russia towards the region.

Singapore Exchange on Monday revealed that it would replace its Nifty products with suitable successors by August to ensure that investors could maintain exposure to Indian markets.

India's Idea Cellular opened books for a qualified institutional placement of up to Rp35bn ($547.4m) after getting final approval for the deal from its board of directors on Wednesday.

Singapore is set to host its first IPO from Bangladesh, with Summit Power looking to hit screens in early March, said bankers close to the deal.

India’s GMR Infrastructure has mandated three banks for the spin-off and listing of its airports unit, according to sources close to the matter.