South Asia

Barclays is preparing to let go of investment banking staff in Asia as the UK lender continues to wind down its presence in non-core markets.

Two senior bankers from Royal Bank of Scotland’s defunct Asian loans division have moved to Banco Santander.

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan has increased the size of its latest loan to $325m from $300m after a few more lenders joined the deal at a later stage.

Indian state-owned companies Power Finance Corp (PFC) and Rural Electrification Corp (REC) have sent out requests for proposals for loans worth a collective $520m. The invitations come close on the heels of the Reserve Bank of India’s announcement of a new framework to regulate overseas borrowings.

India’s stock market regulator has published a consultation paper on real estate investment trusts (Reits) while Singapore’s financial regulatory authority has firmed up rules governing the asset class.

Indian lender Ujjivan Financial Services and healthcare firm Thyrocare Technologies have filed draft prospectuses for IPOs with the country’s capital markets regulator.

Société Générale is shuttering its equity research offering in India and has relocated its team from Mumbai to Bangalore in the process.

Indian pharmaceutical companies Cipla and Lupin are set to tap the syndicated loan market in 2016 to refinance bridge loans they raised for acquisitions in early 2015.

A $1.5bn refinancing for Tata Steel that went into senior syndication in early December has been funded by 17 lenders.

Narayana Hrudayalaya has continued the stellar run of healthcare-themed IPOs in India with its Rp6.13bn ($92m) listing, which priced on Wednesday at the top of the indicative range.

Sri Lanka’s Commercial Leasing & Finance (CLC) has raised one portion of a $153m syndicated loan from 10 lenders, as the non-banking financial institution sets it sights on developing small and medium enterprises in the country.

Indian pharmaceutical company Strides Shasun Arcolabs has priced a qualified institutional placement — which raised Rp11.03bn ($166.4m) — below its floor price, according to a filing with India’s National Stock Exchange on Monday.