South Asia

In this round-up, Moscow Exchange sees fall in both spot and swap trading, South Korea deposits drop for sixth consecutive month, and the Swiss franc is now directly convertible with the onshore RMB. Plus, a recap of GlobalRMB’s top stories this week.

Goldman Sachs this week announced the closure of its dedicated BRIC (Brazil, Russia, China and India) fund after nearly 10 years. The move signalled the end of the BRIC era, as this year saw recessions plague Russia and Brazil while growth in China stalled.

India issues RFP for Concor sale — Bank of Jinzhou readies IPO — China Energy and UNV to pre-market

Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC) and India Infrastructure Finance Company (IIFCL) are on track to issue offshore rupee-denominated bonds, or Masala bonds. With no such notes issued by an Indian borrower so far, market participants are eager for the first offering to come to fruition.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has decided to cut the time between closing an IPO and listing the shares on the stock exchange to six days, as it looks to streamline public issuance in the ECM market.

Jindal Steel & Power and Tata Steel are seeking covenant waivers on their respective offshore loans, putting the spotlight on tough conditions facing their industry. India’s steel companies, which expanded rapidly over the past few years, are strapped with a heavy debt burden amid lower earnings, forcing them to restructure their existing fundraisings. Shruti Chaturvedi reports.

The Indian government has issued a request for proposals to banks to lead the divestment of a 5% stake in Container Corp of India (Concor), which could raise as much as Rp12.9bn ($194m) based on its market capitalisation.

Star Petroleum Refining has firmed up terms on its long-brewing Bt15.66bn ($441.59m) IPO, set to be one of Thailand’s largest listings this year.

India Infrastructure Finance Company (IIFCL) is looking to join the growing pipeline for offshore rupee-denominated bonds, or Masala bonds. Although this is encouraging for the country’s regulators who hope to internationalise its currency by promoting the asset class, market participants warn that there is a lot of work to be done before the first issue comes to fruition.

Birla Carbon, part of the India’s Aditya Birla Group, has shortlisted banks to supply a $925m dual-tranche facility that will replace a loan it borrowed in 2011.

India’s Jindal Steel & Power is understood to have asked banks to relax a covenant on a $400m borrowing sealed in April 2013.

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has launched public consultations for three capital markets frameworks, focusing on bond pricing, securities brokers and know-your-customer information sharing.