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In another competitive year, and with financing volumes reaching new heights, one house capitalised on conditions to bring the broadest range of issuers to market. For spotting the trends and excelling across the capital structure, HSBC is IFR Asia’s Bond House of the Year.
Indonesian power producer Paiton Energy proved that the international capital markets can play a big role in supporting Asian infrastructure with a landmark US$2bn project bond. Paiton sold US$1.2bn of 13-year notes and US$800m of 20-year notes in the 144A/Reg S market, reaching emerging-market specialists in the US as well as Asian and European investors looking for stable, long-term assets. The deal, alongside a US$750m six-year term loan in US dollars and Japanese yen, replaced all of Paiton’s existing project debt and created an entirely...
Vedanta Resources was the first Asian resources company to capitalise on an improvement in commodity prices and flush market liquidity in 2017, pricing a US$1bn bond and liability management exercise that helped cut interest costs and strengthen its finances. The liability management exercise, at the time the largest in the US dollar market from a private-sector Asian corporate issuer, allowed the Indian mining and energy group to redeem around 40% of its 2018 and 2019 maturities and achieve its goal of mitigating refinancing risks. This was an...
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China set an important precedent for other Chinese issuers with a US$2.15bn dual-currency Green bond that combined both domestic and international standards. With global Green bond issuance hitting another record in 2017, the US dollar and euro offering underscored China’s efforts to promote Green finance as it rebalances towards more sustainable economic growth. ICBC’s Luxembourg branch, rated A1 (Moody’s), on September 28 priced US$450m of three-year floating-rate notes at 77bp over three-month Libor and...
As deal volumes reached an all-time high in 2017, one bank excelled in all corners of the Asian high-yield bond market, helping raise funds for clients across different sectors and geographies. For its unrivalled breadth and skilful execution, Deutsche Bank is IFR Asia’s High-Yield Bond House of the Year.
The first project bond from a foreign issuer in the Thai baht market opened the door to an alternative source of infrastructure finance and enhanced Thailand’s status as the regional funding hub for Indochina. Nam Ngum 2 Power, which owns and operates a 615MW hydropower project in Laos, launched its maiden Bt6bn (US$184m) bond in September. The timing and structure hit a sweet spot with yield-hungry investors, and locked in low rates for the borrower at a time when benchmark yields were heading back towards 2016’s multi-year lows. The Bt1bn...
Competition for assets and a drop in deal volumes forced arrangers to look beyond their comfort zones in 2017, and one bank excelled at delivering lucrative deals across a range of markets. For its key roles on complex financings and smart approach to distribution, Credit Suisse is IFR Asia’s Loan House of the Year.
China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina)’s whopping US$12.7bn bridge loan played a key part in financing its takeover of Syngenta and raised the bar for event-driven financing in Asia as the largest syndicated acquisition loan on record in Asia Pacific (excluding Japan). The recourse loan was designed to help fund ChemChina’s equity contribution to its acquisition of the Swiss seeds and pesticide company, and sat alongside a US$20bn non-recourse facility at the target level that is IFR’s EMEA loan of the year. ChemChina’s US$43bn bid for...
Asian equity offerings were back in fashion by the end of 2017 following a broad recovery in stock markets, but one bank set the trend throughout the year. For its unmatched range of deals across the region, Morgan Stanley is once again IFR Asia’s Equity House of the Year.
ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance, China’s first online-only insurer, redrew the boundaries of the Hong Kong equity market with a hugely popular listing that kicked off a wave of hot deals from the technology sector. The HK$13.7bn (US$1.76bn) IPO engaged both institutional and retail investors, and the stock soared after listing, underlining Hong Kong’s competitive advantage over the US in delivering high valuations for the latest crop of new-economy listings. None of the underwriters could have expected the deal – the largest China fintech IPO ever...
In a fiercely competitive market, one bank held off a growing number of local rivals to win an impressive number of sole sponsor mandates from mid-cap clients in 2017. For its consistent focus, BNP Paribas is IFR Asia’s Mid-market Equity House of the year.
Hong Kong’s first big exchangeable bond of the year showed the equity-linked market’s ability to deliver solutions in even the most challenging of situations. Shanghai International Port Group’s US$1bn bond, exchangeable into Hong Kong-listed shares in Postal Savings Bank of China, effectively allowed it to offload almost half of its IPO investment above the listing price. That was no mean feat in a stock that had performed poorly since its debut and was thinly traded: the underlying equity represented over 160 days’ trading volume, based on...
Mongolian Mining Corp stepped into unknown territory with the country’s first offshore debt restructuring, but came up with a solution that treated all parties fairly and overcame foreign ownership restrictions. The coking coal miner could easily have emulated some other Asian commodities companies and imposed punishing terms on its foreign creditors. Instead, it opted for a market-driven solution that delivered equitable treatment and kept investors onside should it seek to access offshore capital again in the future. MMC had to deal with...
In a bumper year for Australian asset-backed financings, the country’s first master-trust securitisation stands out as a game-changer. Latitude Financial Services, Australia’s biggest consumer retail finance company, benefited from an extensive marketing effort at home and abroad for its inaugural securitisation of credit card receivables. Offshore and onshore investors left the A$1bn (US$755m) deal three times covered on March 29, even though it priced inside guidance and was upsized from an indicative A$750m. Bank of America Merrill Lynch was...
Tadau Energy’s M$250m (US$59.2m) project sukuk may be small, but the multi-tranche financing had a big impact in the world’s biggest Islamic bond market. The 15-tranche issue, priced in July 2017, was Malaysia’s first Green Islamic bond, and one of the world’s first project financings in the Green sukuk market. The deal advanced trends that are becoming increasingly important in the modern bond market, helping the transition towards environmentally-friendly financing models, connecting Islamic funds with sustainable and responsible investments...
Vincom Retail’s D16.1trn (US$708.5m) initial equity offering was a landmark in every respect. As well as being Vietnam’s largest IPO on record, the deal also introduced a settlement structure that put the promising market on many investors’ radar for the first time. While Vietnam’s economic growth story has remained intact, international investors have played little part in equity financings in the country, in large part because of the cumbersome listing process. Listings and equity offerings are viewed as separate processes in Vietnam, and the...