India Equity House: HSBC

ANZ retained its position as the dominant Antipodean bond house after successfully adapting to an unprecedented year on both sides of the Tasman Sea. “Our priority was to support clients by providing advice, liquidity and issuer access when the market began functioning again, which actually proved quicker than anticipated,” said Paul White, ANZ’s global head of syndication. ANZ challenged for the top of the league table during the awards period, with a 14.1% share of the market. Its 79 trades encompassed a broad range of issuers, including high...

UBS continued to lead the way in Australian equity issuance in 2020, reacting quickly to the Covid-19 pandemic with tailormade solutions for clients despite increasing market competition. The Swiss bank continued its run at the top of the Australia/New Zealand equity and equity-linked league table after a run of high-profile departures in 2019, including former country head Matthew Grounds, head of investment banking Guy Fowler and equities co-head Chris Williams. Robbie Vanderzeil, chairman of capital markets, also left in early 2020. UBS...

ANZ outperformed its competitors in its home markets and provided much-needed support to borrowers to cope with the pandemic during IFR’s review period, finishing on top of the league tables for Australia and New Zealand once again. The bank underwrote financings to help clients shore up balance sheets and fund opportunistic acquisitions, deepened the market with distribution to institutional investors and continued to promote sustainable finance. “It’s in challenging times like these where we really see the value of our franchise in being able...

China’s economy was the first to be hit by the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020, and Bank of China took a leading role in mobilising the capital markets in response. On February 11, shortly after the Lunar New Year break, BOC was one of the joint global coordinators on the first Covid-19 themed bond from a Chinese issuer in the offshore market, helping policy bank Agricultural Development Bank of China raise Rmb1.5bn (US$230m) from a tap of an existing Dim Sum bond. As an issuer, BOC in February pioneered the sale of Covid-19 social bonds in...

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank passed another milestone in its funding strategy with a debut Panda bond that reset pricing expectations for a Triple A renminbi benchmark. The Beijing-based multilateral development bank in June 2020 printed a well-received Rmb3bn (US$458m) three-year Panda bond in China’s interbank market at 2.4%, near the tight end of the indicative range of 2.3%–2.9%, as it turned to the renminbi to help fund its response to the coronavirus pandemic. The bond, which is 0% risk-weighted in China, set a new reference...

HSBC maintained its leading position in a difficult year for the Hong Kong loan market, standing by its clients in Covid-affected sectors and playing a proactive role in green and sustainability initiatives. In June, with the aviation and travel industry crippled by global lockdowns, HSBC was the coordinator and the sole Equator Principles adviser on a HK$35bn (US$4.5bn) five-year syndicated financing package for Airport Authority Hong Kong. The transaction was upsized from an original HK$20bn after an overwhelming response from 21 lenders...

A record-setting US$3.9bn top-up placement and convertible bond from Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi helped Hong Kong close the gap with the larger US equity market as the fundraising venue of choice for China’s technology sector. Xiaomi’s first equity raising since its HK$42.6bn (US$5.5bn) Hong Kong IPO in July 2018 comprised Hong Kong’s biggest overnight primary follow-on and the largest CB ever issued by a Hong Kong-listed technology company. Xiaomi had been languishing below its HK$17 IPO price before a rally in technology stocks in 2020...

ICICI Bank stood out in 2020 for its efforts to channel capital markets funding to Covid-hit companies across the rating spectrum. It brought first-time issuers to the rupee bond market and reopened the hybrid market for capital-starved state-owned banks, harnessing excess liquidity and low yields to support the real economy. On March 27, shortly after India went into lockdown, the Reserve Bank of India announced a targeted long-term repo operation to ease corporate funding costs by allowing banks to borrow up to three-year funds at a...

CIMB Investment Bank stood firm in a shaky political and economic environment in 2020, keeping the ringgit market open for business with a series of smart and innovative financings. The bank dominated the league tables during the IFR awards period with a 30% share of the Malaysian ringgit bond market, underwriting M$30.4bn (US$7.5bn) of new issues, according to Refinitiv data. The challenges arrived early in 2020, starting with political turmoil in February. The incumbent Pakatan Harapan coalition government, led to victory by Mahathir...

Home improvement retailer Mr DIY Group revived international interest in Malaysian listings in October with the country’s largest IPO in three years and the largest ever from its retail sector. The M$1.5bn (US$364m) IPO had to overcome the uncertainty around the coronavirus crisis and Malaysia’s fraught political environment, with months of travel restrictions and a leadership vacuum making investors think twice about adding to their exposure. Those who participated were well rewarded, however, with the stock gaining 88% by the end of the year...

PLDT made a dazzling return to the offshore bond markets in June, breaking new ground for a Philippines issuer in terms of both tenor and funding costs. The US$600m dual-tranche Reg S deal comprised a long 10-year bond and a 30-year tranche, the longest US dollar bond ever sold from the Philippines. PLDT, formerly Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company, was able to print at an even longer tenor than the Philippine sovereign, which is restricted to issuing at a maximum tenor of 25 years. The 10-year tranche set landmarks, too. It priced at...

Ascendas REIT combined a commitment to green standards with record-low interest rates to bolster its capital structure and add to its reputation as one of Singapore’s top issuers. Singapore’s first green perpetual bond helped rebuild investors’ confidence after a series of missed call options, and still broke records with an ultra-low 3% coupon. When AREIT opened books on the hybrids in September, most issuers were finding it challenging to meet investors’ pricing expectations. A plunge in local benchmark rates and jump in credit spreads, as...