IFR Asia Awards 2013



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Bond House

In another year of record volumes, one bank excelled at matching Asian issuers with global investors. For leading the deals that defined the year, JP Morgan is IFR Asia’s Bond House of the Year.

Investment-grade Bond

In a year when Chinese firms accounted for over 30% of all international bonds sold in Asia, China National Offshore Oil Corp stood out as the first PRC issuer to win over investors in the euro market. The euro tranche of CNOOC’s US$2bn-equivalent offering drew particular attention for being the first euro-denominated benchmark from any Chinese issuer, setting a template that others were quick to follow. CNOOC’s offering priced on September 26 in a resurgent credit market, coming just a week after the US Fed decided to hold off on a curb of its...

High-yield Bond

Country Garden Holdings began a wave of debt sales by Chinese property developers in 2013, launching a 10-year bond when the year was barely days old. However, beating the usual array of investment-grade corporations and sovereign issuers to the market line was not Country Garden’s only trendsetting move. The developer also turned heads with a rare 10-year maturity, rather than the habitual five-year format that other high-yield borrowers favoured, as well as the first 144A/Reg S bond from a Chinese property high-yield credit since March 2011...

Domestic Bond House

A pan-Asian footprint proved important in a year of extreme volatility in many local bond markets in the region and one bank’s focus on cross-border deal-making stood out. For bringing down boundaries and driving innovation, HSBC is IFR Asia’s Domestic Bond House of the Year.

Domestic Bond

New standards for bank capital securities left many borrowers and investors befuddled in 2013, but there was no confusion over a landmark Tier 1 offering from Singapore’s United Overseas Bank. UOB’s S$850m (US$674m) 4.9% perpetual bond, launched in mid-July, was Asia’s first public offering of Additional Tier 1 capital under the Basel III regime. It introduced a new format to the region’s capital markets, paving the way for others. It proved Asian investors were comfortable with Basel III’s loss-absorption requirements for subordinated...

Loan House

In an industry facing tougher capital requirements, one bank transformed its approach to syndication without missing a beat. For leading key deals and proving its distribution skills, Standard Chartered is IFR Asia’s Loan House of the Year.

Loan

Focus Media Holding’s US$1.725bn LBO financing overcame several hurdles to play a crucial role in ensuring the completion of the Nasdaq-listed company’s US$3.7bn buyout – the largest involving a Chinese target – and successfully passed a vital test for the country’s leveraged finance market. Two of the biggest challenges the buyout faced were allegations from Muddy Waters in November 2011 that Focus overstated assets and paid too much for acquisitions, as well as a US SEC investigation into the Chinese display advertising firm’s possible...

Equity House

In a choppy year, one bank pioneered new ways of raising equity in markets off the beaten track while still pushing ahead in its traditional strongholds. For its continued dominance, UBS is IFR Asia’s Equity House of the Year.

Equity Issue, Thailand Equity Issue

For investors looking for a combination of stable returns and growth, the Bangkok Skytrain network presented one such opportunity. BTS Rail Mass Transit Growth Infrastructure Fund’s IPO of Bt42bn (US$1.3bn) was Thailand’s largest private-sector float and its first infrastructure fund, opening an entirely new market and deepening the region’s capital markets. The format allowed sponsor BTS Group Holdings, the operator of the Skytrain, to raise money to expand the network without either increasing its leverage or diluting current shareholders....

Structured Equity House

In a rebounding convertible bond market, one bank retained its lead by running deals in all conditions. For its ability to price deals at the top and bottom of markets, and for issuers in sectors deemed untouchable, JP Morgan is IFR Asia’s Structured Equity House of the Year.

Structured Equity Issue

Singapore’s CapitaLand has always had a reputation as a savvy issuer, but the property developer had a standout year with two new convertible bonds and tender offers, both of which had a strong claim to be the Structured Equity Issue of the Year. In the end, it was the second deal, launched on September 19, which took the honours. While there was an element of luck to its earlier financing, coming just days before the US Federal Reserve sent bond yields soaring with plans to slow its government bond purchases, CapitaLand’s return to market...

Structured Finance Issue

Property is one of the most important sectors for Singapore banks when it comes to lending. In a nation that has seen exponential price appreciation for residential developments in the past decade, being able to finance more buildings is a key focus. However, local banks have been reaching their limits on lending to individual developers and to the sector as a whole, especially since the government started forcing less lending to the sector to curb the appreciation of property prices. Against that backdrop, securitisation sounds like the...

Islamic Deal

A Malaysian issuer, ironically, made the largest contribution to innovation in Singapore’s Islamic finance market this year, when sovereign fund Khazanah Nasional issued the first exchangeable sukuk denominated in Singapore dollars. Khazanah, a repeat issuer of exchangeable sukuk after having pioneered the asset class, was looking to raise Singapore dollars to fund some projects with its South-East Asian neighbour. The fund, having considered four stocks to underlie the offering, settled on a sukuk exchangeable into shares of IHH Healthcare,...

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