China Equity House

In a year of records in the Australian dollar markets, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group was consistently at the centre of the action, cementing its position as Australasia’s go-to bond house for onshore and offshore issuers alike. ANZ was a sole or joint lead manager on a whopping 124 Kangaroo, local senior, subordinated and secured issues, excluding self-led deals, during IFR’s review period which translated into a table-topping A$24.5bn (US$18.6bn) in volume terms and an Australian market share of 17.2%. “In what has been a record year...

Royal Dutch Shell’s sale of its A$3.5bn (US$2.7bn) stake in Woodside Petroleum in November was the standout deal of the year in Australia’s equity capital markets, and the first big block trade under new rules that ruled out a trading halt. Capitalising on a rally in oil prices, Shell Energy Holdings Australia called for competitive bids from six banks shortly after market closed on November 13. It was initially looking to sell only part of its remaining 13.3% stake in Woodside, Australia’s largest independent oil and gas company. Joint...

In a highly competitive market, Westpac Banking Corp showed consistency and leadership across a wide range of transactions, spanning leveraged, corporate and project financings. The bank led 32 deals during IFR’s review period. Twelve were on a sole basis with a combined value of more than A$1.48bn (US$1.1bn). A number of these lead roles were in the sub-investment grade segment for leveraged buyouts or smaller companies, adding to the challenge. “We played in a lot of different spaces this year. We’ve always focused on deals that require a...

With onshore yields under pressure, Bank of China stepped up for its clients in the international markets, helping drive another record year for Asian issuance and maintaining its lead over its rivals. BOC was the top Chinese bank in the offshore underwriting table with US$12.6bn of league table credit from Chinese G3 deals for a 9% market share during the awards period, according to Thomson Reuters data. It handled 96 G3 issues for Chinese clients, making it one of the busiest banks in the overall Asian market. In a difficult year for...

Standard Chartered was the most active bank in bringing Chinese credits to the syndicated loan market in 2017 while its peers turned to club and bilateral transactions against the backdrop of a significant slowdown in deal flow. Its success lies in a deep understanding of onshore/offshore market conditions, policy changes, a strong local team of client relationship managers and years of effort to expand its distribution capabilities. “We have focused on offering solutions to our borrower clients, be that offshore fundraising or identifying...

Maybank took China’s Panda bond market to a new level in July, becoming the first foreign issuer to offer renminbi bonds via the newly launched Bond Connect platform. The new trading link, which went live less than three weeks earlier, allowed Maybank to target both onshore and offshore investors for its Rmb1bn (US$148m) debut, accessing the widest possible investor pool for the securities. The deal also reopened the onshore market for foreign issuers after China’s effort to reduce leverage in the financial sector led to an eight-month drought...

The HK$4.57bn (US$586m) listing of Chinese biologics outsourcing provider Wuxi Biologics was a blowout success, proving that a widely distributed deal could deliver a premium valuation long before the Hong Kong IPO market turned hot. Wuxi played a key part in restoring confidence in the city’s IPO market, paving the way for higher-profile debuts in the second half of 2017, and did so without a liquidity-sapping cornerstone tranche. The backdrop was hardly supportive when Wuxi priced its deal at the start of June. Only one company had...

Trust Investment Advisors helped issuers across the credit spectrum raise funds in a busy year for the rupee debt capital markets following the Reserve Bank of India’s demonetisation exercise. Trust helped India’s largest state government shore up the finances of its overstretched power companies with the first bond issue backed by state government revenues. It brought state-owned banks to the market for regulatory capital, maintained its dominance in bond underwriting for non-bank finance companies, and arranged perpetual bonds and...

Standard Chartered maintained its steady performance in a challenging year for Indian loans, executing more deals than any other international player and engineering innovative transactions in both the offshore and onshore markets. Underpinned by strong origination, structuring and distribution capabilities, StanChart made full use of its unparalleled access to investors in 2017. It harnessed new pools of liquidity for Indian borrowers – including banks from Sri Lanka, which committed around US$95m in three deals this year – and was a...

Kotak Investment Banking won the lion’s share of the major equity offerings in a blockbuster year for the Indian capital markets. It leveraged its relationships with both issuers and investors to work on the landmark IPOs and follow-on offerings during the review period, often edging out far bigger global rivals. Kotak used its enviable distribution network to deliver for its clients in 2017, bolstering its reputation as the must-have bank on any big Indian equity transaction. In a year when India’s insurance sector went public, Kotak managed...

Indonesia was a welcome bright spot in Asia’s syndicated loan market in 2017, following its reinstatement to full investment-grade status, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp was in the thick of the action. The bank captured more than its fair share of the money flows, arranging both capital expenditure deals and new money facilities, and covering both local and international currencies. SMBC has historically maintained a low profile in Asia’s syndicated loan market, being labelled a conservative Japanese bank that deals primarily with...

Star Energy’s US$1.91bn financing for its acquisition of geothermal assets in Indonesia from US energy giant Chevron brought together multiple moving parts in a short time frame and a challenging sector. Star Energy and its consortium partners (Philippine conglomerate Ayala and Thailand’s Electricity Generating, or EGCO) announced their agreement to acquire the Salak and Darajat fields in West Java in December 2016 and closed the US$2.1bn acquisition in March, barely three months later. The speedy execution of the world’s largest acquisition in...