IFR Asia

Bharti sounds on record loan for MTN buyout 10 May, 2008
Indian telco Bharti Airtel is in discussions with banks for a US$15bn–$21bn bridge loan to partially finance its acquisition of South Africa’s MTN Group. Even at the low end, US$15bn, the deal would be the largest loan out of Asia Pacific, including Japan.
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‘Almighty bait and switch’? Rivals slam Truba Alam 10 May, 2008
UBS is hoping to reopen the Asian high-yield market this week with a three-year Reg S trade for Indonesia’s Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering that has been slammed by bankers as “irresponsible”.
Citi’s Korean RMBS gambit sparks interest, and questions 10 May, 2008
Residential mortgage-backed securities hit Asia (ex-Australia) for the first time this year with a bold US$300m Triple A rated deal from Citibank Korea – the bank's first cross-border securitisation.
Hibor, meet Libor: foreign issuers re-embrace HK bonds 10 May, 2008
Following a long cold winter, a spring thaw has set in on the Hong Kong dollar primary market.
Indonesia global mandate sparks above-average grumbling 10 May, 2008
The Republic of Indonesia last week mandated its US dollar global to Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Lehman Brothers. The hiring process took some unusual twists and the mandates have sparked even more grumbling than would be usually expected for a trophy trade.

Top Stories

Banks baulk at Swire renminbi reprisal 10 May, 2008
Tata Steel breaks unsecured barrier 10 May, 2008
Offshore pack returns to KL as swap spreads tighten 10 May, 2008

The cyclone that hit Myanmar devastated the Irrawaddy delta, which produces 60% of country’s rice. The crucial spring harvest was being gathered just as the cyclone hit. The country is now without rice and the means to plant the next harvest. Famine is a real threat. read more

Credit Trading

Directionless market casts Asian credit adrift10 May, 2008
The Asian credit spent another week drifting in directionless waters last week, thanks largely to the absence of the Tokyo market on Monday and Tuesday and little major market-moving news coming out of the US. That could all change again this week, with the US insurers continuing a run of financial reporting that saw AIG report a massive net loss in the first quarter of US$7.81bn and announce plans to raise US$12.5bn in fresh capital.

Marketplace

JPM makes big push into commodities10 May, 2008
JPMorgan last week announced a spate of senior commodities hires in Asia. With the region increasingly at the centre of commodities trading – driving growth in both the demand and supply sides of this market – banks are seeing the benefit of putting feet on the ground in Asia. Jasper Moiseiwitsch reports.