Asia Pacific

In this round-up, Chinese government sets capital account convertibility goal for 2020, IMF yet to decide on RMB SDR inclusion, Shenzhen Connect unlikely in 2015, and cross-border RMB trade settlement in Hong Kong hits new record.

Six borrowers raised nearly €5bn in the covered bond market this week, once again surpassing supply expectations. The star attraction, notable for both its size and tenor, was a €1.5bn three year from the Norwegian issuer, Sparebank 1 Boligkreditt.

It is a truism that the finances of countries, as well as companies, feel the impact from declining commodity prices. This can be good for energy importing nations, and the positive effect on consumption can boost economic growth.

They knew it was coming, but even seasoned bankers at Standard Chartered could not easily shrug off this week’s update from chief executive Bill Winters about the scope and scale of cuts due at the bank.

Dali Foods Group Co has given the Hong Kong IPO market a burst of excitement, launching a HK$10.4bn ($1.34bn) listing that could become the biggest float by a privately-owned company in the city this year. Bankers are touting it as the first deal in a long time to conduct a real institutional bookbuilding rather than simply relying on Chinese state-owned enterprises for demand. Rashmi Kumar reports.

HSBC took a big step forward in furthering its China ambitions this week, entering into an onshore joint venture securities firm with Shenzhen Qianhai Financial Holdings. The first priority is to launch an onshore debt business but the bank has ambitions eventually to offer a full range of investment banking services. Rev Hui reports.

Primary activity has finally returned to the Asia ex-Japan high yield market following a hiatus of close to three months, with Future Land Development Holdings launching a deal on Thursday. While the pipeline remains thin, market participants are taking heart that not all is lost for the asset class, writes Rev Hui.

Bank of Communications (BoCom) has become the second credit card ABS originator in China after completing a Rmb5bn ($790m) trade backed by instalment payments this week.

In a departure from recent tactics, the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Kexim) launched its most recent bond with a generous price guidance. But the gamble paid off as the borrower attracted a record order book and got away with paying only a small concession.

InterGlobe Aviation and SH Kelkar & Co have found huge success with their respective Indian IPOs, with all books multiple times covered by a flood of investors.

South Africa’s Investec Bank is accessing the syndicated loan market for the fifth time this year, and is shaking things up by tapping Asian bank liquidity for a $100m three year borrowing.

Tata Chemicals Europe’s £140m ($216m) dual-tranche facility has been launched into limited syndication, marking the borrower’s return to the syndicated loan market after a four year break.