South Asia

Greatship (India) has hit the syndicated loan market for the first time in seven years, seeking $249m for refinancing.

India’s Reliance Industries is the first to take advantage of the positive sentiment around the country following the sovereign’s ratings upgrade last week. The petrochemical to digital services conglomerate started marketing a dollar bond on Monday morning.

In a positive end to a volatile week in Asia, Moody’s upgraded India’s government rating to Baa2 from Baa3, the agency's first boost of the sovereign since 2004.

Edelweiss Financial Services has added Rp15bn ($229.6m) to its coffers after pricing its qualified institutional placement at the bottom of the range.

Reliance Communications, an Indian telecoms business, defaulted on a $300m bond this week, failing to make a coupon payment to offshore investors after being given a seven-day grace period. The company has put together a plan to restructure its debt, but it has been greeted with widespread scepticism. Addison Gong reports.

The IPOs of two Indian government-owned insurance firms have disappointed on their debuts recently, after they were bailed out by a fellow state-backed insurer. The deals are the clearest sign yet that Life Insurance Corp (LIC) needs to stop meddling in government share sales and let the market take its course.

Galaxy Surfactants is planning an IPO in India worth some $200m, having filed a preliminary prospectus with regulators.

Indian telecommunications company Bharti Airtel has sold a block of shares in its subsidiary Bharti Infratel, raising Rp33.2bn ($507.8m).

The Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange on Monday announced it had launched 44 Indian single stock futures, giving investors exposure to blue-chip companies.

HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co is set to price its IPO at the top of guidance to raise Rp86.95bn ($1.3bn), having closed books nearly five times subscribed, according to a banker on the deal.

Punjab National Bank has hired six firms to lead a Rp50bn ($770m) qualified institutional placement, as the Indian lender looks to bolster its balance sheet.

Qatari investor Three Pillars has bagged Rp96bn ($1.48bn) after offloading a chunk of shares in global telecommunication company Bharti Airtel, according to a source close to the deal.