IFR Asia Awards 2014



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Australia/New Zealand bond house

The Australian and New Zealand bond markets took on new global significance in 2014, as a growing number of international issuers turned to an expanding local investor base in search of alternative sources of funding. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group was at the forefront of this trend, leading Australian dollar issuance and doing more than any other arranger to connect international issuers with Australasian investors. Benefiting from its offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, it was a joint bookrunner on all four of 2014’s Kangaroo issues from...

Australia/New Zealand equity house

Goldman Sachs made its mark in Australasian equities in 2014 with leading roles on Australia’s largest IPO, rights issue, institutional placement and block trade. The bank has honed its local platform and made multiple personnel changes since taking full control of its JB Were joint venture in 2011, and those investments paid off in a year when Australian equity raising continued to rebound, while IPOs gathered pace. Notably, Goldman used its ability to take risk to lure top-tier clients away from its main competitors. Toll-road operator...

Japan takes over

After the US quantitative-easing programme ended with a whimper, a renewed stimulus package from the Bank of Japan is dominating decisions in Asia’s foreign exchange markets.

Australia/New Zealand loan house

In a mature market where the four major domestic banks were dominant, National Australia Bank stood out from its peers in 2014, thanks largely to a reshuffle of its debt markets team that broadened its product offerings. Under the leadership of Steve Lambert, executive general manager of NAB’s debt markets division, the bank rolled out a client-focused structure in 2013, bringing together loan and bond specialists in a single team. While common in global banks, the set-up is unique in Australia, and allowed NAB to originate and execute across...

China bond house

China continued to promote the capital markets as an alternative to bank lending in 2014, and Bank of China Group led the charge, scoring landmark deals in both the offshore and onshore markets. Onshore, BOC, one of China’s Big Four commercial banks, became a top player in the domestic interbank market during IFR’s review period, helping to raise more than Rmb275bn (US$44.7bn) for its clients from around 250 deals, representing a market share of 10.5%. Offshore, the group executed 45 G3 and 37 offshore renminbi transactions, showing its...

China equity house

With domestic markets still in a state of flux and the pipeline for public sector offerings shrinking, Credit Suisse’s ability to market China’s emerging private-sector champions to international investors saw it stand out from the competition. Chinese technology companies were especially active in 2014, and Credit Suisse’s sector expertise came to the fore as internet stocks emerged as the leading drivers of Chinese equity capital markets. Credit Suisse added to its reputation as a technology sector powerhouse with a key role on the...

Dim sum bond house

The renminbi’s global march entered a new phase in 2014 after some volatile trading squeezed out currency speculators, but HSBC’s dominance remained intact throughout the year. HSBC executed more landmark transactions across products, sectors and geographies than any other bank in the offshore renminbi market. It registered up a market share of over 25%, having led 93 of the 249 issues, excluding CDs, during IFR’s review period and handled around 1.58 times the volume of its closest competitor. The bank also pioneered new initiatives and was...

Hong Kong loan house

HSBC stood head and shoulders above its peers in Hong Kong’s syndicated loans market in 2014, leading borrowings for blue-chip companies and playing prominent roles on jumbo event-driven financings. It topped the bookrunner league tables in IFR Asia’s review period, notching up US$4.22bn across 31 deals for an 8% share of a well-banked market, showcasing both the bank’s structuring capabilities and the depth of its corporate relationships. HSBC kicked off the review period with a sole mandate on a HK$10bn (US$1.29bn) dual-tranche acquisition...

Hong Kong equity issue

The HK$6.8bn (US$878m) listing of China’s Luye Pharma Group was the closest anyone came to a flawless Hong Kong IPO in 2014. Luye achieved an attractive valuation that left something on the table for investors, built a high-quality shareholders’ roster and more than justified its decision to switch from Singapore two years earlier. At a time when most Hong Kong IPOs risked confusing investors with an overcrowded syndicate, Luye’s float also showed that a sizable deal can be neatly executed with only three banks. Luye, which boasts a diverse...

India bond house

Trust Investment Advisors was at the centre of efforts to develop the rupee debt market in 2014, using its solid relationships to broaden the investor base for new structures in the bank capital and property sectors. India’s bond markets were in a recovery mode in 2014 after huge outflows of capital in the second half of the previous year and a standstill in the domestic market, as a result of some unclear regulation. Bond volumes, however, bounced back later in the year – thanks in part to the new products that Trust Investment helped...

India loan house

RBS had a strong profile in India in its former incarnation as ABN Amro, having arranged countless corporate and acquisition loans for clients in the country before the global financial crisis. Now revamped and under new management, RBS once again proved its mettle in 2014 in the face of intense competition from foreign and domestic lenders. After a steep decline in the rupee in August 2013, India’s political and economic situation created a difficult climate until the national elections in mid-May, when a landslide win for Narendra Modi’s pro...

India equity house

India’s equity markets hit new heights in the second half of 2014, but it was JP Morgan’s ability to raise funds for issuers across multiple sectors throughout the year that shone through. JP Morgan worked with clients in both the public and private sectors, and at home and abroad, helping to reopen the equity markets for highly geared companies from the telecom and infrastructure sector following Narendra Modi’s May election victory. The bank was involved in a number of key deals in the earlier part of the year, when conditions were far more...

Indonesia loan house

Despite currency volatility, as well as macroeconomic and political headwinds, Indonesia yielded a diverse range of syndicated loans in 2014. Credit Suisse underwrote the financings on a sole basis to distinguish itself from peers, introducing new credits to the market and distributing the risk to a wide range of investors. The Swiss bank stood out with a focused approach that helped it to top the league tables with six deals totalling US$1.11bn, representing a 10% market share in the country. Credit Suisse’s ability to bag sole mandates and...

Indonesia bond

The Indonesian Government seized on the low yields in the European market in the run-up to the country’s finely balanced presidential election to diversify its funding sources with the country’s first euro-denominated sovereign bond. A week before the poll, and six months after doing a record US$4bn print in the US dollar market, Indonesia turned to euro investors, knowing that either an electoral stalemate or the need for new approvals could mean delays for its funding plans. An early lead in the polls for outsider Joko Widodo, perceived as...

Malaysia bond house

Although competition was intense in the ringgit bond market in 2014, CIMB managed to keep rivals at bay with innovative and integrated solutions to keep clients knocking on its doors. CIMB comfortably topped the bookrunner tables for IFR’s review period, with 56 issues under its belt and a 39.4% market share, according to data from Thomson Reuters. The bank had nine sole mandates during the year under review, a high number in a market with mainly joint lead manager roles, signalling the strength of its debt capital markets franchise. Far from...

Malaysia equity house

In a market where share placements depend so heavily on domestic investors, Credit Suisse was hardly the obvious choice for Malaysian companies looking to list their equity or top up their capital. The bank, however, used its local network and international expertise in 2014 to offer new options to its clients and challenge the dominance of the local arrangers. Credit Suisse featured on the two largest Malaysian IPOs during IFR’s review period, as well as the biggest follow-on offering and two of the three biggest rights issues. Since 2012,...

Philippines capital markets deal

The Philippines’ largest IPO of 2014 was also one of the most textbook examples in the region. High-end retailer SSI Group attracted a high valuation – in a week when two other deals in the region were downsized, no less – and performed well, highlighting the successful execution of the Ps7.5bn (US$166m) IPO. SSI came to market in October, when things had turned edgy on concerns over the global economy and the outbreak of the Ebola virus. During the week that SSI was on the road, two other high-profile equity issues in South-East Asia were...

Singapore bond house

What started as a trickle of Singapore dollar bonds from small- and medium-sized issuers turned into a flood in 2014, throwing open the local debt market to several companies for the first time. DBS was at the forefront of this trend, correctly calculating that private bank clients would embrace the new high-yield offerings. The arrival of the new asset class helped DBS cement its position as the top arranger of Singapore dollar bonds, with 70 new issues during the review period for a 37% market share. Reading the investor mood correctly may be...

Singapore equity issue

In a year of pulled transactions and weak listings in Singapore, Frasers Hospitality Trust’s S$400m (US$306m) Singapore IPO bucked the trend, winning investors’ full support and reopening the equity capital markets. Frasers began marketing its float in June, ending a lull of about two months in the Singapore IPO market. It offered exposure to international assets and its success helped open up the market for the second half of the year, making the city’s exchange one of the more active markets in South-East Asia. Singapore maintained its...

Singapore loan house

DBS held on to its leadership position in Singapore loans in 2014 on a variety of borrowings involving the commodities sector, as well as a sprinkling of event-driven financings and debut facilities. It was the top bookrunner during IFR’s review period with a 16% share of the US$22bn market, according to Thomson Reuters LPC data. The achievement had the help of the smooth interplay of its loan and bond operations in a year when the capital markets provided strong competition. DBS, the largest bank in South-East Asia in asset terms, struck...

South Korea equity issue

South Korea’s equity capital markets started 2014 in poor shape. Prospects for new listings had become so bad, in fact, that the country’s regulators felt it necessary to step in to make it easier and faster to launch deals. Samsung SDS changed all that. Not only was the IT services provider’s W1.16trn (US$1.1bn) global offering easily Korea’s largest IPO of the year, but its massively oversubscribed order book also single-handedly reignited the country’s new issue market, making it the most important equity issue of 2014. Bankers had a big...

South Korea loan

When US-based Tyco started the sales process for security services provider ADT Korea in November 2013, few could have predicted that the financing would play such an important part in determining the outcome. Carlyle Group emerged victorious months later due to a gutsy, underwritten W1.35bn (US$1.21bn) leveraged buyout financing that included the largest mezzanine loan on record in Asia, excluding Japan. With a price tag of around US$1.93bn, the acquisition was Korea’s largest LBO and the largest M&A transaction in Asia’s security service...

Taiwan loan house

Taiwanese banks faced a series of challenges in 2014 as foreign currency liquidity turned volatile and fears for China’s economy triggered a review of their exposure. CTBC Bank, however, outperformed its peers at home and did more than its rivals to bring international borrowers to Taiwan. Exposure to China’s private sector was a particular focus for Taiwanese banks during the year, with defaults rising and Taiwanese authorities warning that loans were close to infringing regulatory limits. CTBC relied on comprehensive due diligence to keep...

Thailand bond house

Siam Commercial Bank guided issuers through the upheaval of Thailand’s military coup, showing strong leadership and a thorough understanding of the market. Thailand grabbed headlines in 2014 for all the wrong reasons, as political gridlock and protests on the streets of Bangkok culminated in a military coup on May 22. However, as offshore funds rushed out, onshore funds moved in to fill the vacuum, and SCB was among the first to spot an opportunity to revive capital markets issuance. Barely seven days after the coup, SCB opened books on a new...

Thailand capital markets deal

Foreign funds flowed out of Thailand when the army took control on May 22, but even the uncertainty over the military government’s plans for state-owned enterprises failed to get in the way of the country’s first public offering of Basel III-compliant bank capital. Barely a month after the coup, government-owned Krung Thai Bank sold a US$700m 10.5-year non-call 5.5 Tier 2 bond to a resounding reception. The issue introduced investors to Thailand’s version of the Basel III loss-absorption rules that force bondholders to share the pain if the...

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