Asia Pacific

Global Bio-Chem, the first dim sum issuer to breach a covenant, is looking to buy back its outstanding bonds at par, hoping to safeguard its reputation in the offshore capital markets ahead of future issues.

The US is likely to cede the top spot to China in the next three years while India will also surpass the US over the long term, an OECD report said

The Republic of Indonesia returned to the Samurai bond market in style this week, receiving almost twice the demand necessary for the ¥60bn deal. The sovereign used a guarantee to ensure strong demand, but it got a good sign that investors were becoming more comfortable with its standalone credit quality.

Fed up of languishing at the bottom of renminbi league tables, China’s banks are making moves to gain market share and are happy to use whatever leverage is necessary to meet their goals.

Strong demand for a paper from HSBC’s Australian subsidiary pushed pricing on the A$750m ($782.58m) dual tranche deal in by 3bp from guidance.

A combination of rising rates in China and favourable investor sentiment offshore has made the dim sum market a bargain for mainland issuers – though only for a short time.

Top 3 Offshore RMB DCM Transactions - 2012 YTD

Even though some assets staged a brief rally after the results of the US election, investors should still tread carefully in emerging markets

Pohjola Bank is preparing a Samurai bond programme and could make its debut issue this year as part of prefunding for 2013, the bank has told EuroWeek.