South Korea’s new short-term Cofix rate raises concerns Investigations into South Korea’s CD rate-setting prompted the country’s FSC to introduce the Cofix benchmark for short-term lending rates. By Ashley Lee August 28 2012
Asia M&A trends analysed As Dutch bank ABN AMRO opened its escrow and settlement services in Hong Kong this month, Asia lawyers outline why the escrow business is growing in Asia By Ashley Lee August 22 2012
Why Vietnam bank merger could spark copycat deals Sahabank and Habubank’s merger is part of the State Bank of Vietnam’s plan to reform the country’s troubled banking sector. By Ashley Lee August 22 2012
CIS region sukuk first analysed The Development Bank of Kazakhstan’s sukuk offering is the first such issuance out of the former Soviet Union. But compliance with local laws proved considerable challenging for deal counsel. By Ashley Lee August 15 2012
Thai hybrid bond first reveals disclosure-based regime shift PTTEP's hybrid bonds issuance is the first such offering by a Thai non-financial institution. Deal counsel expect it to prompt more complex debt capital markets transactions in Thailand. By Ashley Lee August 15 2012
Vietnam's PPP framework: what needs to change Public-private partnerships (PPPs) have been popular throughout Southeast Asia, but they haven’t yet taken off in Vietnam despite a desperate need for infrastructure. By Ashley Lee August 13 2012
What to watch under India’s new companies law Indian lawyers eagerly await the passage of India’s Companies Bill 2011 to replace the outdated Companies Act 1956. But they are concerned by the new law’s corporate-social responsibility (CSR) requirement... By Ashley Lee August 08 2012
What NAFMII’s asset-backed MTNs mean for securitisation in China China’s National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors (NAFMII) has released draft rules for a securitisation instrument for non-financial issuers. By Ashley Lee August 01 2012