South Asia

Tissue paper maker Youyuan International is tapping the loan market for a $120m 3.5 year facility, marking its return after a gap of two years.

The Pakistan government is planning to sell shares in a pair of energy companies, following approval from the country’s privatisation authority.

Loans for financial institutions continue to flourish in general syndication, with deals for State Bank of India and Malaysia's Maybank progressing smoothly.

India's ONGC Videsh has lined up six lenders for a $1.268bn nine month loan to support its acquisition of a stake in oil fields in Russia.

India’s Parag Milk Foods has added an extra three days to the bookbuilding period of its Rp7.7bn ($115.6m) IPO despite being oversubscribed, in a last ditch attempt to woo more institutional interest.

BNP Paribas could let go of up to 40 people in its Asia cash equities unit, affecting about 20% of the division's workforce in the region, as it seeks a buffer against the continued soft patch in the market.

Sri Lanka’s finance minister, who has helped engineer a growth recovery, tells Emerging Markets that he is fed up with “pontificating” Western politicians telling him to adopt green policies that would end up adding costs for his citizens

In a rare side-by-side appearance in a debate at the ADB annual meetings, the finance ministers of India and Pakistan sidestepped the normal hostile tone between the two Asian powers to outline how they will both surpass China with 7% annual growth.

Sri Lanka needs to overcome China-phobia by convincing people that it can develop a relationship with its larger neighbour that is now seen as over-reliant.

Dollar loan volumes from India have risen 10% so far this year, with numbers driven mainly by fundraisings for large conglomerates and state-owned firms. This is despite a slump in overall activity in the rest of Asia. But the lukewarm response during syndication for some of the recently closed deals indicates a pushback on pricing from retail lenders, writes Shruti Chaturvedi.

Hong Kong-listed conglomerate Dah Chong Hong is readying a loan to back its acquisition of Li & Fung’s Asia consumer and healthcare distribution business.

Indian mortgage lender HDFC is close to signing up lenders for a $375m borrowing, according to two sources.