Insignia Financial loan

Insignia Financial’s dual-currency loan priced this week with the UBS-led deal, which comprises USD/AUD TLBs due 2032, funding the company’s buyout by CC Capital Partners and One Investment Management. 

The dollar loan was offered at SOFR+450bps-475bps with a 98.5 OID, while the AUD loan was offered at BBSY+500bps-525bps, also with a 98.5 OID. The loans priced at the tight end of that guidance.

The loan is a rare opportunity for US-based lenders to finance an asset and wealth manager in the land down under, as reported by 9fin.

Lenders should see an increasing number of deals from the region as sponsors and banks look to originate outside of crowded US and European markets.

But the loan underscored the appetite for such deals domestically. The bank group revised the loan sizes on 20 November, increasing the AUD loan to A$1.155bn ($740m) versus A$900m ($580m) and downsizing the dollar loan to $500m from $671.5m.

Is the rise of the Australian dollar at sterling’s expense?

Forget the Gabba, which hosts the next instalment of the Ashes. There appears to be a new battle for the superior niche currency fought between sterling and Australian dollar bonds.

While total sterling issuance is up slightly year over year to £62.8bn, sterling issuance by non-UK borrowers has fallen in recent years from an average of £38.4bn in 2020-2023 to £25.5bn in the last two years — equivalent to a 33% decline, according to 9fin data.

At the same time, supply in the Australian dollar market has surged, driven in large part by companies based outside of the region. Borrowers have priced AUD114bn (£55.7bn) in the currency so far this year, which is slightly down from full year 2024 but still up 275% since 2022, according to 9fin data. Around 30% of that supply comes from companies based outside of Australia or New Zealand.

West China Cement

West China Cement priced a $400m senior note with a 9.9% coupon (priced at 99.115, yield of 10.25%) on Tuesday (25 November), the company also launched a concurrent tender offer to purchase its outstanding notes due July 2026. This marks the third-highest yield offered by Chinese issuers in 2025, behind only Seazen Holding's USD notes of 13% in September and 12.95% in June.

Click here to read the analysis of the deal.

INR bonds

Developer Gaursons India Private has mandated Kotak Mahindra Bank to arrange INR 6bn–7bn ($67m–78m) in local-currency bonds, as 9fin reported.

Kotak has reached out to domestic mutual funds and non-banking finance companies to assess appetite for the issuance. The planned non-convertible debentures, or INR bonds, are expected to carry a low-double-digit coupon.

Japan approved supplementary budget to support Takaichi’s fiscal package

The Japanese government approved a JPY 18.3trn supplementary budget on Thursday (27 November) to finance Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s fiscal stimulus package. The move reflects Takaichi's commitment to turning around Japan's economy, which contracted in Q3 25 due to weak consumption, inflation pressures, and the prolonged drag of a depreciated yen.

Click here to read the analysis of that deal from 9fin’s Allen Chiu.

Other news from Asia

Japan to issue $75bn in new bonds to fund stimulus (The Japan Times)

China’s markets rattled as Vanke revives property crisis fears (Bloomberg)

Hillhouse in $7bn fundraising as Asia private equity revives (Reuters)

Indonesia blindsided by Nusantara’s 190-year land right law nullified in court (SCMP)

America’s oldest ally in Asia is drawing closer to China (Economist)