The transformation of capital markets towards a more sustainable financed sector gained further momentum during the past 12 months as demonstrated by the flurry of green and sustainability-linked transactions across the region.

This comes on the back of another record issuance year in the Asia G3 bond market with 2019 volume amounting to US$349.47 billion, exceeding the previous high of US$333.27 billion in 2017, as issuers and borrowers took advantage of the low interest rate regime, and investors generally brushed aside the risks posed by the US-China trade war.

As a result of the covid-19 threat, the board of editors at The Asset announced the highly-anticipated results of Triple A Sustainable Capital Markets Regional Awards via livestream, the first time they have done so.

BNP Paribas was named the Best ESG Bank in Asia. The French bank has a clear, firm-wide strategy on sustainability embedded in its business activities – from investment banking through asset/wealth management to transaction banking. It arranged a number of landmark green and sustainability-linked loans and bonds for various issuers and borrowers across the region.

Citi retains the honours as the best bank in Asia as it continues to provide consistency with solid growth numbers in the various markets in which it operates. It was also involved in a number of significant capital market transactions across fixed income, equities and M&A. It places a lot of focus on its digital capability, partnering with several high-profile companies to create a digital eco-system.

BNP Paribas also wins the award for best sustainable finance adviser as it embeds its sustainable financing strategy across each and every capital market fund raising activity from green and sustainable bonds to loans. Some of the transactions that defined its year include the US$1 billion and €500 million  (US$543.50 million) green bonds for LG Chem, the world’s first green bond offering by a chemical company, and the first green loan in Taiwan for Orsted amounting to NT$25 billion (US$820.20 million) to finance an offshore wind farm project.

The best green adviser award goes to Credit Agricole CIB as it demonstrated its commitment to the green financing space during the year. The bank was involved in two landmark sovereign green financing deals by the Hong Kong SAR and the Republic of Korea, and it was the green structuring adviser for the Greater Bay Area-themed international green bond.

Capturing the deal flow across a broad range of industries, including TMT, real estate, financial institutions, and new economy, Credit Suisse wins the accolade for best corporate and institutional adviser. It was a co-sponsor in Alibaba Group’s US$12.9 billion Hong Kong secondary listing and brought several Chinese companies into the US market to raise funds. It has a strong bond franchise and figured in a number of important M&A transactions.

Credit Suisse won the best equity adviser award reflecting the strength of its franchise in the field. In addition to the Alibaba secondary listing, the firm was in the GSX Techedu USD$216 million US IPO, the largest China ADR in the education sector in terms of market capitalization and capital raised.

The best equity-linked adviser award also goes to Credit Suisse as it was able to capture the strong deal momentum in the sector in 2019. It was able to offer innovative, bespoke structuring solutions to issuers, including dual-tranche offerings, concurrent follow-on offerings, and call spread.

DBS remains the best Reit adviser in Asia in 2019 as it continues to play a dominant role in bringing transactions into the market. It was the sole financial adviser in the Landlease Global Commercial Reit, Prime US Reit and  Eagle Hospitality Reit deals, as well as a joint financial adviser in the ARA US Hospitality Reit transaction.

HSBC regains the best debt adviser honours for 2019 with strong participation in several landmark deals across loans, bonds, acquisition finance, and securitization. It offers comprehensive debt solutions in different credit spectrums and demonstrates track record in successfully bringing debut borrowers into the syndicated loan market.

The best bond adviser citation likewise goes to HSBC, as it was able to capture the themes that defined the market in 2019, delivering sustainable financing solutions to clients such as Bank of China Macau and LG Chem, and it was at the forefront of ground-breaking transactions, such as the first project bond for Vietnam. It was also active in the Asia private placement market, an increasingly important source of nimble funding.

Credit Suisse wins the best emerging market bond house for 2019. It had broad coverage of the frontier markets with its transactions for Mongolian Mortgage Corporation and SriLankan Airlines. It executed deals for a number of first-time high-yield issuers, such as Zhongliang Holdings and Serba Dinamik.

Standard Chartered wins the best local currency bond adviser accolade, exhibiting its strength as a one-stop solutions provider across various currencies. Its strong relationship with guarantors such as Credit Guarantee and Investment Facility (CGIF) demonstrates its continued, committed efforts in contributing towards the further development of  frontier markets, such as Vietnam. 

For the best renminbi bond adviser, the award goes to Bank of China as it continues to flex the strength of its renminbi franchise during 2019. It was a leader in arranging Panda bonds, with deals, among others, for United Overseas Bank, New Development Bank and the Government of Portugal.

DBS prevails over the competition and is voted best loan adviser as it continues to punch above its weight. It has a well-diversified client coverage among sponsors and small, medium and large caps. It was an active deal arranger in the sustainability-linked and green financing space with strong coverage of the commodities sector. It also brought in new borrowers to further develop the Asian loan market.

Citi is selected as the best M&A adviser with a number of marquee deals concluded in 2019, such as the privatization of Hopewell Holdings – the largest ever Hong Kong real estate privatization. In this deal, it acted as the sole financial adviser to the offeror, Petrus HK Company. It also acted as an adviser in the takeover of Amer Sports by a consortium led by China’s Anta Sports.

The best acquisition finance adviser award goes to HSBC for leading a number of large-scale event financings in Asia in 2019, including several benchmark cross-border acquisition deals. It was the sole mandated lead arranger, underwriter and bookrunner in the US$1 billion bridge facility for China Mengniu Dairy’s acquisition of Bellamy’s Organic. The bank was a joint global co-ordinator, underwriter, bookrunner and mandated lead arranger in the US$1.5 billion financing to support the acquisition by Wingtech Technology of China of the Netherlands-based Nexperia Holding.

BNP Paribas was a repeat winner as the best securitization adviser as it continues to stand out in the market with innovative transactions. It was a co-arranger in one of the largest and worldwide trade receivables securitization programmes for Lenovo Group, which encompassed 45 selling entities in 21 jurisdictions and forthnightly funding in 14 different currencies. It was also the sole arranger and lead manager in the US$200 million securitization of Hong Kong consumer loans for PrimeCredit – the first public term securitization in Hong Kong since the early 2000, and the first AAA-rated consumer loan securitization in Asia, outside of Japan.

To see the list of winning institutions click here.

For the Triple A Sustainable Capital Markets Regional Awards 2019 - Best Deals click here.