Standard Chartered

Chinese property issuers led the reopening of Asia’s offshore bond market following a week-long holiday in the Mainland to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Investors responded to the new deals with enthusiasm.

Akbank is kicking off the first set of refinancings of the year for Turkish banks, launching its syndication with a smaller volume and tighter margins than last year’s deal. But lenders are divided on whether the deal represents an achievement for the Turkish bank, or betrays an outlook festooned with risk. Mariam Meskin reports.

As climate change climbs the agenda, banks are finding themselves under increasing pressure to bolster their commitments to social responsibility. That is helping green loans take off in the Middle East and Africa — slowly. Some bankers are confident that banks will see the importance of sustainable financing, but others are unconvinced, pointing to a range of obstacles.

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the largest industrial company in the UAE outside of the oil and gas sectors, has kicked off the year with a $6.5bn term loan facility, as market conditions remain “borrower friendly”.

BFI Finance Indonesia has returned to the loan market for a $55m three year facility.

Chinese automobile retailer Zhejiang Geely Holding Group has returned for a €1.4bn dual-tranche facility to refinance a bridge loan raised last year for its purchase of a share in Swedish truck maker AB Volvo.

Asia’s sustainability market took a big step forward this week when Kookmin Bank priced a Basel III-compliant tier two bond with a sustainability label — the first of its kind in the region. Morgan Davis reports.

Are Asian investors ready to embrace duration again? Oil India and Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) proved there is clear demand, rolling out a pair of 10 year bonds on Tuesday. SCB also added a five year tranche.

Fosun International, China Grand Automotive Services and China Molybdenum Co rushed out to the offshore bond market on Monday, helping kick-start a rush of issuance before Chinese New Year.

‘Tier two’ and ‘sustainability’ are labels that have never previously been combined in Asia. At least not until this week, when Kookmin Bank raised $450m from a Basel III-compliant deal.

CDC, a development financial institution, has hired a former regional head of global banking at Standard Chartered to mobilise investment in developing countries.

Egypt is revamping its capital markets presence, lining up a debut in the green bond market, a first deal in an Asian currency, and dollar and euro benchmarks all by the end of its fiscal year in June.