South Asia

A $145m loan backing the Blackstone Group’s acquisition of the Indian business process outsourcing (BPO) operations of the Serco Group is likely to launch this week.

Ashok Leyland is seeking to list its commercial vehicles financing arm, Hinduja Leyland Finance, in an IPO expected to raise around $100m, according to sources close to the transaction.

Rural Electrification Corp is seeking a new $150m five year loan and sent out a request for proposals (RFP) this week, marking a quick return to the debt market.

Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries has picked a big group of banks for refinancing a $1.5bn loan raised three years ago.

India’s Tata Steel has sold down a portion of its stake in automotive unit Tata Motors, pricing the Rp12.5bn ($188.6m) transaction at the bottom of guidance in a trade heavily supported by hedge funds.

More details have emerged on a request for proposals (RFP) sent by Bharat PetroResources International (BPRL), which is seeking a new $650m loan.

Indian pharmaceutical companies are creating a buzz in the loan market by seeking debt to fund outbound acquisitions. While other sectors in the country are yet to kick off such spending in a big way, the pharmaceutical industry has been an exception, and bankers are hoping for more opportunities to finance purchases. Shruti Chaturvedi reports.

India is trying to get its life insurers out from between a rock and a hard place by pushing ahead with new legislation to ease the way for their IPOs. The move has been a long time coming, but any marquee public offerings from the country’s life insurance firms are still at least a year away, writes John Loh.

CLP Wind Farms, a unit of CLP India, became the first corporate from the country to issue a green bond on September 15. Market participants expect India’s green issuance to take off, as it needs such financing with more liquidity expected to guarantee pricing benefits.

A $125m loan for Bharat PetroResources International (BPRL), a subsidiary of Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL), has launched into targeted syndication.

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan has chosen three banks to work on a potential dollar offering in conventional format, days after Fitch assigned the sovereign a junk rating.

Standard & Poor’s has raised South Korea’s sovereign credit rating by one notch to AA- from A+, while Fitch has assigned a first-time rating of B to Pakistan because of the country’s weak fundamentals.