IFR Asia

Korea stuns with six-way mandate on dollar global bond 23 August, 2008
The Republic of Korea (A2/A/A+) last week mandated its planned Reg S/144a global bond to Barclays Capital, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Lehman Brothers, Samsung Securities and UBS, on equal books status, a selection that proved to be a hot topic among Asian DCM bankers. A US$1bn deal has been approved by the South Korean authorities, capped at that size, with a 10-year trade the likely outcome.
read more

CVC in play as white knight to Peace Mark.... 23 August, 2008
An indicative offer by private equity firm CVC Asia Pacific for Peace Mark (Holdings) last week has added a new twist to the recent drama surrounding the performance of the Hong Kong-listed watchmaker’s shares. Investors in and lenders to the company are keenly awaiting the outcome of CVC’s due diligence before deciding on the future course of action.
....bookrunners under fire over share price slump 23 August, 2008
The massive slump in the share price of Hong Kong-listed Peace Mark (Holdings) earlier this month has not only disconcerted investors and creditors, but also raised questions as to the role of the two bookrunners on a share placement for the company in early June.
CityDev builds on Singapore’s Islamic bond ambitions 23 August, 2008
Blue-chip real estate company City Developments (CityDev) last week set up a S$1bn (US$707m) Islamic MTN programme in Singapore, representing the first corporate Sharia-compliant programme from the city state. The move is the first step in the government's ambitions to develop an Islamic financing hub in Singapore.
Taiwan High Speed Rail lines up ABS to address cash shortfall 23 August, 2008
Cash-strapped Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) has engaged Lehman Brothers to design a NT$150bn (US$5bn) refinancing project using securitisation – an ambitious exercise in a financial world badly hurt by the sub-prime crisis and the weakening global economy.

Top Stories

Singapore braces for PPP financing boom 23 August, 2008
Game on: Venetian Macao invites lenders to take bigger bets 23 August, 2008
Hynix puts faith in local support with jumbo CB 23 August, 2008

There’s an almost ironic symmetry when the capital flows of the Asian financial crisis of a decade ago and those of the present Occidental crisis – if that’s the right phrase – are contemplated.read more

Credit Trading

Typhoon Nuri pounds Hong Kong, but Asian credit becalmed23 August, 2008
Rumour and speculation in the US surrounding the financial health of the mortgage agencies, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and the entire US banking system dictated prices at every Asian open last week, with the remainder of each day’s trading limited to just small ranges and restricted levels of interest in the credit markets. Typhoon Nuri in Hong Kong on Friday – which was expected to rise to the no.10 signal, the strongest since the Asian crisis of 1997 – did nothing to alleviate the illiquidity.

Marketplace

Ambitious timing23 August, 2008
Tata Group is one of a number of Indian conglomerates moving into areas traditionally dominated by financial institutions: private equity, institutional equity broking and investment banking. The move comes at a tough time, with dealflow drying up and competition intensifying. But management is hoping to leverage existing business relationships and unearth competitive, in-house funding solutions. Denise Wee reports.