Singapore

Singapore-listed palm oil company First Resources is tapping the loan market for a $150m-equivalent dual-currency deal.

Senior ING banker Herry Cho is moving to the Singapore Exchange to take on a newly created position as head of sustainability and sustainable finance.

UBS has appointed Axel Granger as head of M&A and head of financial sponsors for southeast Asia, a newly created position at the bank.

Singaporean ride-hailing company Grab Holdings has added a dash of excitement to the loan market with plans to raise $750m from a new outing. Pan Yue reports.

Singapore-based Ivanhoe Capital, led by mining billionaire Robert Friedland, is floating a special purpose acquisition company (Spac) on the New York Stock Exchange.

Singapore could prove to be a rich seam of covered bond issuance next year, with bankers suggesting analysts’ expectations are far too pessimistic. Conversely, Australian issuance may prove to be disappointing. Meanwhile, potential new legal developments in Japan and Malaysia will provide a key focus of attention.

Singapore-based consumer internet company Sea, whose New York-listed shares have soared by more than 400% this year, is looking to take advantage of that positive sentiment to raise around $2bn from a new equity offering.

Singapore banking veteran Eric Lian has returned to UOB in a senior position after a stint at OCBC.

United Overseas Bank revitalised the moribund Singaporean covered bond market on Tuesday with the first euro deal in two years and the largest from a Singaporean issuer. The bonds attracted record demand and were priced inside UOB’s curve, showing the extraordinarily receptive state of the market.

Singapore-based Tiga Acquisition Corp has raised $240m after increasing the size of its New York Stock Exchange IPO.

United Overseas Bank has mandated leads for the first euro covered bond benchmark from a Singapore lender since September 2018. The deal takes advantage of the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) recent decision to increase covered bond issuance capacity.

Lakshmi Vilas Bank is set to merge with DBS Bank’s operations in India, under a central bank plan to save the cash-strapped local lender.