Southeast Asia

Seven borrowers from Greater China raised about $2bn from new dollar bonds on Monday, while Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific tapped the Singapore dollar market.

Ten more Asian issuers rushed to the dollar bond market on Monday, further adding to the record debt issuance seen in the region last week.

Price discovery was in focus for a $400m debut bond from Philippine conglomerate Aboitiz Equity Ventures (AEV) on Thursday, as the unrated company brought out a rare 10 non-call five year senior deal from the country.

Thailand's PTT Exploration and Production Public Co made a quick return to the debt market on Thursday, selling a 10 year bond less than two months after closing a 40 year deal.

Lao People's Democratic Republic has taken a step towards selling a public dollar bond in the international market, after gaining its first local and foreign currency issuer ratings from Moody’s on Wednesday.

Axis sells full Syndicate Bank loan — Onfem boosts size to HK$6bn — Indorent closes $175m borrowing with 13 banks — VPBank wraps up $200m facility — Vingroup attracts 14 lenders

Helen Wong, former chief executive of Greater China at HSBC, is joining OCBC Bank as deputy president and head of global wholesale banking.

The Republic of Indonesia made an opportunistic outing this week, tapping both the dollar and the euro bond markets for about $3bn. The sovereign started the year with a different approach to its annual funding, in a bid to take advantage of strong liquidity in both the currencies, writes Morgan Davis.

Indonesian automobile company CSM Corporatama, also known as Indorent, has wrapped up its syndicated loan at a bigger size of $175m.

Senior debt capital markets banker Pramod Shenoi joined independent research firm CreditSights at the end of last year.

Asian bond issuers went full speed ahead with their fundraising plans on Monday, launching new deals ahead of Chinese New Year holidays at the end of the month.

Global law firm Dechert has hired Maria Tan Pedersen as a partner in its Singapore office, in a bid to expand and strengthen its corporate and securities practice in the region, it said on Monday.