Standard Chartered

Bank Muscat has mandated eight banks for a Reg S dollar benchmark bond.

Although the deal has taken longer than planned, the $150m loan for Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) will be increased following strong demand from Chinese banks, according to a banker on the deal.

Standard Bank of South Africa has grown its loan from $600m to $1bn in syndication, largely driven by demand from the four Chinese lenders in lead roles.

Indian company Shriram Transport Finance is holding conversations with banks for a rupee denominated offshore syndicated loan — the first of its kind. The talks follow a change in guidelines late last year for overseas debt raising, as the central bank encourages the development of the Masala market.

Malaysia's Maybank has priced its latest $400m five year bullet loan tightly at 95bp over dollar Libor, launching the deal into general syndication last week.

China is set to launch a new gold price benchmark via the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE), according to market participants. The initiative will see the involvement of both local and foreign financial institutions, marking a new achievement in China’s quest to make the RMB a reference currency in the commodity markets.

More details have emerged on a $405m loan being underwritten by three banks to fund Blackstone’s purchase of a stake in Indian fintech firm Mphasis.

Maybank opened its $400m five year bullet loan to retail participation on Thursday after expanding the mandated lead arranger and bookrunner group.

In this round-up, China reports the first gain in foreign exchange reserves for March, a treasury official said preparations for the Shenzhen Connect have been completed, an RMB globalisation index dropped further in February, and Deutsche Bank assisted a corporate client set up a cross-border RMB liquidity solution. Plus, a recap of our top stories this week.

Yankee banks took full advantage of strong funding conditions and the undivided attention of investors to print a volley of senior paper this week, as Wall Street’s heavyweights skulked in earnings blackout.

The Islamic Corporation for Development printed its $300m five year sukuk on Wednesday but drew heavy criticism for having priced at the wide end of guidance with a lower size than the “benchmark” originally targeted, and for a lacklustre performance in the secondary markets on Thursday.

Standard Chartered has appointed a new head of FIG capital markets for Europe and the Americas, according to an internal announcement seen by GlobalCapital.