South Asia

India’s equity capital markets were silenced this week as a nationwide lockdown and tumbling share prices kept bankers at home and issuers at bay.

The primary corporate bond market in Europe threw up another blistering day on Wednesday, with seven issuers on screens by mid-morning, bringing the number of deals so far this week to 18, though bond syndicate desks are hesitant to compare this crisis market with the record-breaking issuance in 2009.

Indian debt issuers are starting to feel the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has forced a country-wide lockdown for three weeks. With dollar bonds slumping in the secondary market and downgrades coming fast, the outlook for borrowers is bleak.

Reliance Industries is seeking commitments from banks for a ¥38bn ($351m) Samurai loan in senior syndication. The Indian company’s deal is part of a two-tranche dollar and yen-denominated transaction worth about $1.45bn.

Fitch Ratings has downgraded the Maldives to B from B+ and revised its outlook to negative from stable, as the Covid-19 pandemic hits the island nation’s tourism industry.

Indian banks and corporations hoping to fund in the offshore loan market were already facing difficult questions, following a wide-ranging clean-up of the country’s financial system. They are now facing a worse problem: the spread of Covid-19.

India’s market regulator has approved Esaf Small Finance Bank to launch its IPO of about Rp9.8bn ($128.3m).

The decision by the Reserve Bank of India to permanently wipe out Yes Bank’s Rp84.15bn ($1.14bn) Basel III-compliant additional tier one bond left the market in awe of the central bank’s tough stance. But it could be just what investors need right now.

Yes Bank has written down Rp84.15bn ($1.14bn) of its Basel III compliant additional tier one bonds, becoming the first Indian bank to have its AT1 notes bailed in. The move, together with capital injection from a group of banks led by State Bank of India, is expected to give a much-needed boost to the beleaguered firm’s capital ratio.

A handful of Indian listings that had been expected by the end of March have been pushed back after a traumatic week for domestic and global markets.

SBI Cards and Payments Services has priced its Rp103.4bn ($1.4bn) IPO at the top of the range and was allocating the stock to investors on Wednesday.

India’s Tata Steel and Birla Carbon have decided not to syndicate their chunky loans, amid reluctance from the bookrunners to sell down their positions in a slowing market for deals.