Asia Investment Banking Scorecard – August 12, 2011

Asia Investment Banking Scorecard – August 12, 2011

STRONG LEVELS OF DIM-SUM CONTINUE

As investors seek out safer investment havens to combat equity downside, dim-sum bonds issued in Hong Kong continues its momentum, reaching US$13.5 billion so far this year through 115 issues, double that of the 2010 full year total at US$6.1 billion. HSBC, Standard Chartered, and Deutsche Bank remain the top three bookrunners of dim-sum bond activity, capturing 46% of the market from 75 bond transactions. The largest dim sum bond this month is Eastern Air Overseas's issuance of US$$389 million in 4.0% Guaranteed debt.

A RECORD VOLUME FOR SAMURAI BONDS

Australia's Westpac Banking Group and South Korea’s Hana Bank priced yen-denominated bonds, which are increasingly being seen as safe-haven instrument. Issuance from Australia grew 72.6% year-on-year amounting to US$5.2 billion, or 25.6% of the total. South Korea accounted for 14.7% of the Samurai market. Samurai bond volume has reached a record high of US$20.5 billion over 59 issues for year-to-date volume, up 72.8% from the same period in 2010. Daiwa Securities Group tops YTD underwriting for Samurai bonds, up from its 3rd spot in the same period last year.

TAIWAN'S HTC ACQUIRES US'S BEATS

Taiwanese smart-phone manufacturer--HTC--has acquired a controlling stake in Beats Electronics for US$309 million, the 5th acquisition that the company has made this year. Cross-border M&A deals from Taiwan has reached US$2.0 billion this year, the highest level since 2007 with 42 announced deals. Citigroup and Goldman Sachs are the top two financial advisors for Taiwan outbound deals, collectively advising on 36% of the outbound deals thus far.

ENDS

© Scoop Media