Asia Pacific

Australian issuer Suncorp-Metway pulled in A$350m with the first Australian dollar denominated 10 year covered bond seen since 2014.

The approval of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect came with a number of changes to the overall structure of the cross-border investment scheme. Markets are now debating the appeal and challenges of the new set-up.

The Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect could herald a new dawn in opening up China’s capital account, but its impact on primary markets may only be limited, equity capital market bankers said this week.

Five Chinese companies have registered their respective plans to sell offshore foreign currency bonds with the National Development and Reform Commission, according to a note on the regulator’s website.

A group of Indian and international banks have signed up to manage the government’s sell-down of NBCC India, which is set to be worth around Rp22bn ($328.5m), a source familiar with the matter said this week.

Indonesian lender Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional, which is backed by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, is seeking $155m from the syndicated loan market.

State-owned Indian Railway Finance Corp (IRFC) is steaming ahead with plans to issue its maiden offshore rupee-denominated bond in late September.

Jilin Jiutai Rural Commercial Bank Corp has filed a Hong Kong IPO application via sole sponsor Guotai Junan International.

Citi has named Servaas Chorus as its new head of global capital management for Asia Pacific, according to an internal memo seen by GlobalCapital Asia.

Australia and New Zealand Bank has appointed Raymond Yeung as chief economist for Greater China, which will see him leading the bank’s research team providing macroeconomic analysis for the region.

The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) has launched a protocol aimed at helping market participants comply with the variation margin requirements that come into force in March next year.

The Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect Scheme was officially given the go ahead by China’s State Council on Tuesday, with the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) making the breakthrough announcement that the entire Stock Connect scheme will now operate without aggregate trading quotas. Exchange traded funds (ETFs) and derivatives are due to come in future expansions.