Asia Pacific

In this week’s round-up of offshore renminbi news, Standard Chartered’s RMB Globalization Index rose to 1,475 in January, up 8.5% from the previous month. The bank has also included New York as the fifth centre in the index. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong exchange is to enhance its RMB currency futures offering with after-hours trading.

Haitong International Securities Group listed its first Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (RQFII) Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) today on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The product is the first RQFII ETF from a securities house.

London listings could prove popular for issuers looking to sell offshore renminbi following the International Finance Corporation’s debut London listed RMB deal this week. It enjoyed a diverse global distribution, with several investors telling syndicate bankers that the location of the listing was an important factor in deciding to participate.

Two big-name Chinese SOEs announced offerings in the offshore renminbi market on Thursday.

The prospect of the first bond default in the Chinese onshore market, with Shanghai Chaori Solar Energy Science and Technology Company warning this week that it may not be able to pay the coupon on a bond issue on Friday, has caught the market by surprise.

A long-awaited first default in the Chinese onshore bond market looked inevitable late on Tuesday night when Shanghai Chaori Solar Energy Science and Technology Company posted an announcement on the Shenzhen Exchange saying that it would not be able to pay creditors when its second annual interest payment of Rmb89.8m falls due on Friday.

The International Financing Corp provided offshore renminbi investors with much sought after AAA-rated credit exposure, pricing its Rmb1bn ($163m) three year deal on Tuesday, as investors continued to react to increasingly negative emerging market headwinds.

Ping An Bank is to price an offer of up to Rmb9bn ($1.46bn) of tier two Basel III compliant bonds on Thursday March 6, in what will be the third — and biggest — Basel III deal in China so far. Ping An has a total Basel III quota of Rmb15bn.

The International Finance Corporation released guidance on a new short three year offshore renminbi (CNH) bond on Monday, March 3.

Gemdale (Asia) Investment issued a Rmb300m ($49m) tap of its existing three year bond on Friday, just two days after pricing the original deal. The tap was driven by reverse inquiry from a sole investor, though bankers away from the deal have questioned the unusual move.

Bank of China (Singapore) priced the year’s first offshore renminbi bond aimed at Singapore on February 25. It amassed a huge order book as investors took advantage of a rare opportunity to buy into a five year investment grade dim sum bond.

BP Capital Markets priced its latest dim sum bond on Monday and was forced to offer generous guidance over its existing curve to stand out in a very busy market. However, investors still flocked to take advantage of the attractive pricing and a quality multinational credit, with the order book closing at Rmb3.6bn ($571m).