South Asia

Alkem Laboratories is set to price its Rp13.5bn ($202.1m) IPO at the top of the range after investors piled into the trade, buoyed by healthy demand for the Indian pharmaceutical sector.

Syndication for a $145m loan backing the Blackstone Group’s acquisition of business process outsourcing assets in India is close to winding up.

Dr Lal Pathlabs has priced its Rp6.4bn ($95.2m) IPO at the upper end of guidance following strong demand from investors.

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan has raised a new $300m 18 month loan, making a rapid return to the syndicated market.

Two Indian healthcare companies closed extremely successful IPOs on Thursday, with Alkem Laboratories and Dr Lal Pathlabs fully covered mid-way through bookbuilding. And with India’s equity capital market buzzing with activity, bankers are telling their clients to seize the day before uncertainty sets in, writes John Loh.

Reserve Bank of India has issued a new framework to regulate offshore borrowing by Indian companies. While the changes are aimed at reducing the stress in the country’s banking system, the rules have led to bankers questioning how they will adjust to the new regime. Shruti Chaturvedi reports.

State-owned refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp has sent out a request for proposals for a $200m deal, coming to the market eight months after it cancelled a loan in favour of a bond.

Inner Mongolia-based China Shengmu Organic Milk is testing appetite in the syndicated loan market for a $120m three year facility and is offering banks an attractive yield of more than 300bp.

It’s funny how public perception of something can be completely opposite to reality.

India’s Dewan Housing Finance held a non-deal roadshow in Taipei on December 9 just a few weeks after sealing an offshore dollar loan.

India’s Reliance Industries has selected a group of 13 lenders for a $1bn loan that will refinance a borrowing raised in 2010.

New rules on Indian offshore borrowings have dismayed local bankers as it bans them from participating in offshore deals for non-bank financial corporations and firms that support infrastructure — the bread and butter of their loans business. But the changes are not a bad thing and will shake Indian lenders out of their complacency.