Markets in Asia sold off today in line with declines in the US and Europe. There are few data points to focus on and there is certainly little sign of a Santa rally. “Another low liquidity day, as various idiosyncratic storylines play out,” said Stephen Innes, head of trading APAC at online multi-asset trader OANDA in Singapore. Commodity weakness saw the ASX trade down around 0.50%, dragged lower by the big miners. The Reserve Bank of Australia yesterday left interest rates at a record low. "The low level of interest rates is continuing to support the Australian economy," said governor Philip Lowe, as Q3 GDP figures came in lower than expected. The Nikkei was unimpressed by a strengthening yen and in early afternoon trading was off by more than 1.70%. And a decline in tech stocks put pressure on the Shanghai Composite and the Hang Seng which were lower by 0.60% and 1.25% respectively. The CME Fedwatch tool has the probability of a rate hike at next week’s Federal Reserve meeting at more than 90%, so attention will be on rates for next year.
 
Parkway Life REIT, which is owned by IHH Healthcare, has sold ¥5 billion (US$44.3 million) 0.57% six year senior unsecured notes under its S$500 million (US$371 million) multicurrency debt programme. Barclays and DBS are joint lead managers. The debt priced 1bp tighter than the group’s maiden ¥3.3 billion six-year deal in March this year.
 
Beijing-based Universal Medical Financial & Technical Advisory Services (UMS), the largest integrated healthcare solutions provider in China, has doubled the size of its first loan. The three-year loan is now US$600 million according to Reuters IFR. China Construction Bank, CTBC Bank and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank are the mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners of the loan which is split into US$316.5 million and HK$2.2 billion (US$283.5 million) tranches.
 
GenomiCare Biotechnology has completed US$25 million Series A financing co-launched by Morningside Venture Capital, Apricot Tree Capital and Carebridge Holdings, for which China Renaissance Group provides exclusive financial consulting service.
 
Australia’s TBG Diagnostics, a global molecular diagnostic company operating in the IVD industry, has formed a 60/40 joint venture with Haitou Group subsidiary, Xiamen Haicang Biotechnology Development. The purpose of the joint venture is to build and operate a medical laboratory at TBG’s facility located within the Xiamen Biobay, a 10 square kilometer biomedicine industrial park home to more than 100 biomedical enterprises in Xiamen’s Haicang district.
 
Medical glove manufacturer Kossan Rubber Industries is to acquire a 27% stake in Hong Kong-based Cleanera, a trader of clean room products for US$1.6 million, from Midori Anzen. Upon completion, Kossan will hold 82% of the company.
 
Guangdong Kanghua Healthcare, the operator of the largest private hospital in China, is planning to take stakes of at least 51% in two companies: Anhui Hualin Healthcare Investment and Hefei Xingu Rehabilitation Investment. They currently manage and operate a number of private non-profit organisations in Anhui Province, China, including one specialist hospital, one Class I general hospital, nine rehabilitation centres and one vocational training school.
 
Q&M Dental Group, which operates the largest network of private dental outlets in Singapore, is to sell its entire stake in Q&M Medical Aesthetic & Laser Centre to Li Jingxiang for S$242,000. No further details of the sale have been released.
 
Australian-owned Aspen Medical has signed an agreement to help the Zhejiang Medical and Health Group (ZMH) to expand the expansion of medical facilities and services in the eastern province of Zhejiang.
 
CR Phoenix Healthcare, China’s largest private hospital group, has joined forces with China Resources University, jointly to establish the Phoenix Hospital Management Institute.
 
German healthcare giant Fresenius has opened its first independent dialysis centre in Quanzhou, China.
 
In New Zealand, Chai Chuah, the country’s director-general of health, has stepped down. “I have been considering for some time that the health system needs a new director-general in place to take it forward,” Chuah said. His last day will be 2 February. The state services commissioner will now begin the process of appointing a new director-general of health. And Hong Kong-listed diagnostic company Mingyuan Medicare has appointed Danny Lam as chief executive officer and Peter Wong as a non-executive director.