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IFR Asia is pleased to announce the winners of the 2021 Awards, recognising achievements in the Asia Pacific capital markets. Our congratulations to the winners, and a sincere thank you to all of those who took the time to submit nominations. To see the list of winners and read the 2021 IFR Asia Awards supplement, click here. The IFR Asia Awards Roll of Honour is available here. To see the digital version of this report, please click here. Due to the current circumstances, we will be unable to h
Admiralty Harbour Where offshore vehicles dock after hitting the rocks AI-powered Fair marketing claim, as long as your business uses computers Archegos Proof that being banned from trading in Hong Kong doesn’t have to limit your career Beijing Stock Exchange Niche market for issuers that weren’t quite right for the four existing boards in Shanghai and Shenzhen Bond buyback Attempt by an issuer to reassure investors that its US$50bn of debt is manageable by repurchasing US$10m of pap
To see the digital version of this report, please click here To purchase printed copies or a PDF, please email gloria.balbastro@lseg.com
To see the digital version of this report, please click here To purchase printed copies or a PDF, please email gloria.balbastro@lseg.com
To see the digital version of this report, please click here To purchase printed copies or a PDF, please email gloria.balbastro@lseg.com
When India’s Masala bond market was launched in 2014, the hope was that it would become a vibrant issuance arena underpinned by deep secondary liquidity and a wide variety of foreign investors and traders. To say that the market has disappointed would be an understatement, but optimists are calling a turn. The International Finance Corporation opened the Masala market with the announcement of a bond programme in 2013, following severe stress in India’s capital markets as a result of
Asia’s debt restructuring landscape in 2021 revealed its increasingly dual nature: China, and the rest of the region. South and South-East Asian legal regimes remain challenging although reform is underway, led by India, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines and hope springs that greater transparency and predictability will emerge as markets develop. “Undoubtedly China distressed is perceived as the new frontier for Asian debt restructurings,” said Jamie Mclaughlan, director
It’s all change at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, or at least it will be on April 4. But opinion is divided about whether the planned upheaval will do enough to inject new life into one of the duller corners of the world’s equity markets. Japan Exchange Group, which was formed in 2013 through the merger of Tokyo Stock Exchange and Osaka Securities Exchange, is to simplify the TSE, cutting the five market sectors to three. The current First, Second, and Mothers sections and the two sub-sec
When one fundraising route closes, another one opens – at least, if you have a good bank behind you. Politics, regulators and credit concerns all closed funding avenues for Asian companies at some point in 2021, so issuers and arrangers had to be flexible and quick to adapt. After a booming first half of China-to-US listings, China’s regulatory crackdown on industries like the technology sector, coupled with increased scrutiny from the US authorities, ended that route to market. Some
Morgan Stanley had to be quick to adapt in 2021, as some hot markets turned cold overnight and vice versa. That required the ability to see upcoming opportunities across the region and to reallocate resources to them as investor sentiment, or regulators’ attitudes, changed. In the past, other banks used to claim Morgan Stanley was overly reliant on China and the technology sector. While the bank capitalised on its strengths in those areas during a booming first half, it needed to draw on c
Goldman Sachs led the way in Asia’s equity capital markets in 2021, securing key roles on the biggest capital raisings of the year and showing its strength across a broad mix of markets and products. Amid a frenzy over technology companies because of their rapid growth during the Covid-19 pandemic, Asia saw global banner transactions in the first half. Sentiment turned in July after Chinese regulators stepped up scrutiny of the country’s tech giants, but record issuance continued in
South-East Asia’s largest ride-hailing and food delivery company Grab Holdings created history when it opted to list in the US through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company in the biggest blank-cheque company deal ever. Singapore-based Grab’s decision to become a publicly listed company was triggered by the business’s strong performance in 2020, despite the Covid-19 pandemic. Grab recorded a gross merchandise value of around US$12.5bn in 2020, surpassing the pre-p
Citi’s exceptional record in 2021 was backed by its nimbleness and its willingness to take tough decisions in light of market changes. The bank has been shifting its business model in recent years to become more competitive and reach new issuers in smart, concentrated ways. It has established a stronger foothold in ESG, high yield and China, and helped guide more borrowers into the 144A market, which was often the best option for Asian investment-grade issuers. The booming issuance in the
JSW Group, which has energy, infrastructure and cement businesses alongside its flagship company JSW Steel, made use of both onshore and offshore capital markets in 2021 as it tested the limits of both with challenging transactions. India’s regulations limit the amount lenders can extend to one corporate group, and also restrict the amount issuers can raise from the bond market. As a result, sophisticated issuers like JSW Group are diversifying their sources of funding. “We are gradu
If 2021 was the year when India finally punched its weight in Asian investment banking, Axis Bank emerged as the pound-for-pound champion. A mixture of low interest rates, a burgeoning pipeline of new economy companies, more domestic savings being channelled into the capital markets and regulatory uncertainty in other markets led to a flurry of dealmaking in the country. As equity and debt issuance boomed, India’s third-largest private sector bank led standout trades across all major produ
Australian private hospital operator Ramsay Health Care’s debut A$1.5bn (US$1.1bn) syndicated sustainability-linked loan stood out for its innovation, complexity in structuring and breadth of distribution. Although the proceeds of the borrowing were for refinancing, this was the first SLL from an Australian healthcare company. The loan launched in May in a rapidly evolving market of financings tied to environmental, social and governance metrics that became more mainstream, particularly in
Indofood CBP Sukses Makmur made an eye-catching debut in the US dollar bond market in June with an ambitious US$1.75bn two-tranche deal that was the year’s best capital markets trade from Indonesia. Marketing a maiden US dollar bond is hard enough, but Indofood aimed for a large size and long tenors, presenting additional challenges. The instant noodle producer priced a US$1.15bn 10-year note at par to yield 3.398% and a US$600m 30-year bond at par to yield 4.745%. The shorter tranche saw
Standard Chartered began the year with a restructuring of its corporate finance business, absorbing the corporate finance team into the larger global credit markets business and creating three new groups with the aim of bringing all credit origination and distribution functions under one roof. “At the start of 2021, we integrated our origination and distribution activities across corporate finance and financial markets into a single global credit markets vertical, allowing us to sharpen ou
The Government of Mongolia was back in the offshore market in 2021 with the kind of outstanding trade that has become customary, this time reducing its refinancing risks and lowering its funding costs. The transaction, which was split across a US$500m 3.5% 2027 bond and a US$500m 4.45% 2031 note, showed how Mongolia’s prudent approach to funding has paid off. Back in 2016, the country sold a US$500m five-year bond at 10.875%. Even in September 2020, Mongolia paid 5.375% for its US$600m 5.5
Credit Agricole stood out in the field for the breadth and quality of its ESG offering this year, even as more banks ploughed in extra resources. Plenty of banks have agreed to phase out new coal financings, but Credit Agricole is looking beyond that. It needs to meet tough disclosure requirements in Europe, and aligns its Asian business with them, too. “We have dropped some bond mandates because they did not align with our principles,” said Antoine Rose, head of sustainable banking
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