Equity House

HSBC dominated G3 issuance in Asia again in 2017, leading the deals that set the trend for the rest of the market and helping issuers around the region make the most of supportive conditions. It was quick to spot changes in investor sentiment through the year, helping financial issuers from Australia to South Korea access regulatory capital and allowing corporate clients to bolster their balance sheets with low-cost or perpetual funding. HSBC took a leading role in the Additional Tier 1 market with a debut issue for Industrial Bank of Korea,...

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...

Deutsche Bank covered the broadest possible range of products and markets for Asian high-yield issuers in 2017, setting itself apart from rivals in a record year for the sector. It led deals from China to India and Macau to Mongolia, in sectors ranging from coal mining to solar power. It connected Asian issuers with investors in both the US 144A and Reg S-only markets, delivered complex liability management exercises and helped debut borrowers access new sources of funding. Deutsche Bank set the standard early in IFR’s review period with an...

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...

Credit Suisse distinguished itself from its peers in 2017 with a collection of leading roles on challenging deals, including event-driven financings and debut borrowers across Asia. The Swiss bank focused on situations where it could add value – and make money – using its balance sheet judiciously to support key clients. Credit Suisse does not chase every deal, but its strategy paid off handsomely in a year when cash-rich Asian institutions were crying out for higher-yielding assets. “We have focused on playing to our strengths in delivering...

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...

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...

BNP Paribas has been focused on helping Asian mid-cap companies raise funds across the years and added to its reputation in 2017, despite fierce competition. Of the French bank’s 18 Asian equity placements during IFR’s review period, 16 were in the mid-cap sector, including a number of sole sponsor mandates from Chinese clients. “We have been very consistent in serving mid-cap clients, be it a good or bad year. We don’t jump on the mid-cap deals just because there are no big deals in the markets,” said Christopher Wong, co-head of equity...

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...