Southeast Asia

The Indonesian authorities have used nearly every trick in their fiscal and monetary policy playbook to kick-start an economy hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. The results are slowly showing, but there is an uphill battle ahead, writes Rashmi Kumar.

Asia’s first blue loan has sparked debate among market observers about the potential of the asset class amid rising interest from borrowers for ESG-focused funding. While expectations are high for the blue loan market’s development in 2021, challenges remain, writes Rashmi Kumar.

Kerry Express, a Thailand-based delivery company, has raised Bt8.4bn ($279.5m) after sealing its IPO at the top of the marketed range.

AirAsia X is looking to raise MR500m ($123m) from a rights issue and a placement of new stock to some shareholders.

Aabar Investments has pocketed MR932.4m ($229.4m) after selling down its remaining position in Malaysia’s RHB Bank, according to a source close to the deal.

Malaysian energy giant Petronas raised MR3.05bn ($751.8m) from a pair of secondary share sales on Thursday.

Singapore-based consumer internet company Sea, whose New York-listed shares have soared by more than 400% this year, is looking to take advantage of that positive sentiment to raise around $2bn from a new equity offering.

The Lao People's Democratic Republic is pursuing a dollar bond sale.

Philippine company SMC Global Power Holdings Corp added $350m to its coffers from a bond tap on Monday, taking advantage of market stability to return to investors rapidly.

VPBank Finance Co, the consumer finance arm of Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank, has exercised the greenshoe option to increase the size of its loan to $170m.

Fitch has downgraded Malaysia for the first time since the Asian financial crisis, slashing the sovereign rating by one notch to BBB+ due to the Covid-19 crisis and political uncertainty.

Indonesian textile products manufacturer Sri Rejeki Isman, better known as Sritex, is planning to extend a dollar loan closed in 2019 by two years.