South Asia

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reduced the minimum maturity of offshore rupee-denominated bonds, also known as Masala bonds, to three years.

The Reserve Bank of India has given the nod for infrastructure companies to access foreign currency debt for shorter maturities than originally allowed — making a rare U-turn just four months after putting a new framework together. The RBI may have got it wrong first time around but it’s comforting that it lost no time in setting things right.

Indian medical institute Medanta is in the midst of selecting banks to run a potential $300m IPO, according to a source with knowledge of the deal.

PNB Housing Finance has made changes to the bank group leading its $400m Indian IPO, bringing in Bank of America Merrill Lynch to replace Barclays as a lead manager, according to a source close to the trade.

More details have emerged on a $405m loan being underwritten by three banks to fund Blackstone’s purchase of a stake in Indian fintech firm Mphasis.

Indian IT company 3i Infotech is aiming to issue foreign currency convertible bonds to refinance a pair of outstanding equity-linked notes, according to a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

India’s Equitas Holdings has priced its Rp22.5bn ($338.8m) IPO at the top of guidance after investors flooded the deal on the last day of bookbuilding.

The Brics bank is to finally make its capital markets debut later this month by issuing green bonds in RMB with the proceeds to be channelled into energy and infrastructure projects, sources have told Emerging Markets, a sister publication of GlobalCapital Asia.

Allocations have been revealed for a $274m triple-tranche loan for Indian pharmaceutical firm Strides Arcolab's acquisition in Australia.

Vodafone has begun selecting underwriters for the IPO of its Indian arm, with banks asked to sign non-disclosure agreements in order to pitch for a role.

A $465m 21 month refinancing for Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) has received one commitment since its launch into syndication in mid February.

Indian small finance bank (SFB) Equitas Holdings has wrapped up its IPO after books saw a late surge in orders, with the deal ending up multiple times subscribed.