Asia Pacific

Foreign investors are hungry to get access to China’s capital markets, and the small moves to allow investor inflows are nowhere near enough to sate their appetite. But investor protection in the country is not strong enough, and foreign investors should take great care before investing in the mainland market.

Philippine mobile operator Globe Telecom is planning to sell Ps10bn ($236m) of domestic bonds later this month, following parent company Ayala Corporation curve-lengthening successful offering of 15 year bond last week.

German state-owned development bank KfW made its debut in the offshore renminbi bond market on Wednesday, raising Rmb1bn ($158m) from a two year deal.

State-owned KfW debuted in the dim sum bond market this week, raising Rmb1bn ($158m) and becoming the fourth issuer from Germany to sell offshore renminbi bonds. (See Public sector borrowers section in the main paper for full details of the transaction.)

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and People’s Bank of China (PBoC) need to take action to improve the pool of offshore renminbi or risk thwarting the currency’s internationalisation.

Easing regulations for dim sum bond issuance will lure Chinese entities with overseas M&A ambitions to the offshore market.

Barings will launch RMB denominated share classes for Asian clients to take advantage of the currency appreciation. Korean won and Singapore dollar share classes are to follow.

The establishment of London as an offshore renminbi centre will kick start syndicated loans in CNH, though lending in the currency will shrink in the short term as deposits fall, say dealers.

The Phillippine’s state-owned Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp — better known as Psalm — is considering which banks to mandate for a $500m-$700m domestic deal that will help it cover a big chunk of its funding requirement for the year.

Bank of East Asia’s China branch raised Rmb1bn ($159m) from its second visit to the dim sum bond market late last week, offering a juicy yield pick up against outstanding notes from other lenders.

Taiwan’s plan to allow listed local companies to issue offshore renminbi bonds in Hong Kong without using offshore subsidiaries will spur deals from technology companies in the country, bankers said. But it will not lead to a raft of fresh issuance.