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With the alignment of certain key variables, there is cautious optimism that the positive momentum in deal activity during the first quarter will continue for the remainder of the year – an observation made at APLMA (Asia Pacific Loan Market Association)’s recent Leveraged and Acquisition Finance Conference in Hong Kong, where MUFG was a platinum sponsor. At the “Lenders Perspectives and Insights” panel, Stephen Dipsellas, Director of Leveraged Finance Syndicate, Debt Capital Markets, noted: “Market participants are adopting more creative ways to implement financing solutions in response to a higher interest rate environment. A proliferation of private capital and continued support by the bank market is seeing a lot of promise in terms of the usage of structures that can co-exist. “Furthermore, markets that have traditionally been strong sources of deal activity have become increasingly competitive. Participants are now looking more broadly to other parts of Asia-Pacific to replace deal volume,” he added. “The need for significant infrastructure investment across the region and the continued development of emerging markets is expected to see greater levels of activity in cross-over (core plus) credits.” #MUFG #MUFGAPAC #leveragedfinance #acquisitionfinance #debtcapitalmarkets (Photo credit: APLMA) 

MUFG was accorded the Global and APAC Mandated Lead Arranger (MLA) of the Year at the annual IJGlobal Awards 2023. MUFG was also recognised in 11 transactions that were awarded in their respective categories, including renewable energy, digital infrastructure, and energy transition. Shiv Sivarajah, MUFG’s head of project finance for Asia, said: “To be recognised as both Global and APAC MLA of the Year is an excellent accomplishment. It reflects the hard work, focus and performance of every one of our global project finance teams in delivering for our clients over the last year.” For more information about the awards, visit: https://lnkd.in/gMH2bWds #IJGlobalAwards2023 IJGlobal

MUFG N0W – Net Zero World, our regional sustainability thought leadership platform, makes its debut in Hanoi, Vietnam on 8 May. In association with the Center for Natural Resources and Environment Communication, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) and featuring industry experts and business leaders, MUFG N0W will delve into the opportunities and challenges surrounding  Vietnam’s journey towards net zero by 2050 and contextualise the country’s progress against the backdrop of global decarbonisation trends. We will also look at Vietnam’s energy transition through the lens of the strong bilateral ties between the country and Japan, and how lessons from Japan and ongoing bilateral collaboration can accelerate the further greening of its energy system, spurring technology development, and mobilising sustainable finance through policy support. #MUFGN0W #MUFG #MUFGVietnam

Last week, MUFG EMEA invited leaders from the climate and blended finance space to share their insights on the market in a ‘Lunch and Learn’ for London-based colleagues, with virtual attendance by regional MUFG offices. MUFG EMEA has long been active in the Climate and Blended finance space, supporting clients to access investment opportunities and solutions in Emerging Markets. In this session, attendees heard from the Climate Policy Initiative, Systemiq Ltd. and the Green Guarantee Company who discussed the growth of Climate Finance flows over the past decade and the need for both public and private organisations to increase their ambition, efficacy, and coordination. The use of guarantees as a financial instrument to meet Emerging Market investment needs was a key discussion point of the event. Chris Kyle, Chief Executive Officer, MUFG Securities EMEA, gave the opening remarks and Ariane Pevide, Climate Finance Director, MUFG EMEA moderated the session. Chris Kyle, CEO of MUFG Securities EMEA , said: “This was a great occasion to bring our teams together to better understand the opportunities available to our clients within the blended and climate finance space. We are committed to supporting clients on this journey and leveraging our expertise to enable their success.” MUFG EMEA’s ESG disclaimers can be found here: https://bit.ly/4bpcsSQ

I’ve had a really warm welcome from my MUFG colleagues as the new Regional CEO for EMEA – thank you everyone!   It has been a busy couple of weeks getting stuck into the role! I’ve been catching up with our Group leadership in Tokyo, kicking off plans for our new Medium-Term Business Plan and discussing strategy and priorities for the coming months.   One of these priorities is the creation of our new Global Structured Solutions business. I was delighted to see Terry McKay JD, LLM, MBA and Alex PIERRE appointed to lead this team earlier in the month. This new team has been created as a direct response to the investment and financing needs of MUFG's global institutional investor clients and financial sponsors. I am always inspired by the power of collaboration when it comes to meeting our clients’ needs and I look forward to seeing this function go from strength to strength!   This month, in the EMEA region, we have also been celebrating Easter, Ramadan and Eid. Our teams came together to support Muslim colleagues who were fasting during Ramadan and to celebrate with Iftar dinners. This is the culture of inclusion that I love to see!

This week George G., MUFG Head of U.S. Macro Strategy, walks through the ever evolving reaction function from the Fed, where George isn’t terribly concerned about the recent Fed hawkish comments. George feels that this has been standard operating procedure, where the Fed tries to calibrate their message after a FOMC meeting. What we learned at the March FOMC is still important, the Fed is increasingly focused on their dual-mandate and will react to labor market weakness just as it would to changes for the path for inflation. George also walked through a special topic theme from the latest Macro2Markets Monthly report, the topic being how healthy is the consumer and are there signs of the wealth effect at work post the recent large rally in financial assets. Lastly George gave a mini-NFP preview. http://ms.spr.ly/6045cIUWZ

We are delighted to announce Hidefumi Yamamura as our newly appointed Regional CEO for MUFG EMEA. Having been part of the EMEA team for 7 years, Hide is sure to hit the ground running! Follow Hide’s profile to stay up to date with his journey as Regional CEO.

MUFG clinched “Best Social Impact Advisor” at The Asset Triple A Sustainable Finance and Digital Awards 2024 for “its expertise in advising clients seeking financing to attain their social development goals such as gender equality and financial inclusion”.   In addition, #MUFG and Krungsri won “Best Green and Blue Bond” for their US$400mn green and blue bonds, and “Best Sustainability-Linked Loan – Food Products” for our roles in Thai Union Group’s THB11.5bn equivalent sustainability-linked financing as co-lenders – further validating of our capabilities and alliance to meet the needs of our clients.   To our clients whose transactions were recognised in 20 deal awards across the region, we are grateful for your trust and partnership. We also thank our partners and teams for your unwavering support and collaboration as we transition towards a net-zero future together.   Colin Chen Amanpreet Singh Jonathan Ne Win Cerlin Ip  

George G., MUFG Head of U.S. Macro Strategy, gives us an update on his latest view since his last podcast and highlights what is driving market sentiment and views lately. George then walks us through the March FOMC preview report, focused on what is our base-case and risks around our views into and out of the Fed meeting. George believes Chair Powell will aim to sound neutral as the market has already priced-out a lot of the recent cut expectations and the data trends remain mixed. http://ms.spr.ly/6044cWNVg

Last week, colleagues at MUFG EMEA came together to celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) 2024. Many events were held across the EMEA region to support this year’s theme of investing in women as a way to accelerate progress, including; • Keynote talk by Suzanne Williams, QPM, international hostage and kidnap negotiation expert who discussed how she uses her extensive experience to teach influence without authority and negotiation strategies for successful business transactions. The physical and digital ‘room’ was full of raised hands and questions! • Senior Women Forum event focussed on managing across generations, expertly delivered by Wenying L., our Head of L&D • Networking breakfasts and coffee breaks, focused on empowerment and collaboration • Workshops with a partner school focused on breaking stereotypes to challenge gender expectations, inspire pupils about careers in finance and help develop leadership and presentation skills • Amplifying the visibility of our senior women, including EMEA Chief Risk Officer, @Nicola Wickes and Head of Legal for Emerging Markets, Sheetal Ram who shared their career journeys, challenges and stereotypes they’ve faced and reflections on gender diversity Aneta Weedon 🌈 , Head of Diversity Equity and Inclusion for MUFG EMEA, said: "Women make up 40% of the MUFG EMEA executive board and 24% of our EMEA leadership team and while we know more needs to be done to accelerate progress, our commitment to driving gender equity, balanced representation and closing the gender pay gap remains strong. Our investment in specialist Women in TEC programme, new and enhanced parental benefits and improved hiring and promotion practices for representative outcomes are just some of the areas we have been focussed on." #InvestInWomen #AccelerateProgress #IWD2024 #InternationalWomensDay #EmpoweringABrighterFuture