Asia Pacific

The New York-based investment bank announced the launch of a new index designed to track the performance of off-shore renminbi bonds in Hong Kong.

The municipal bonds to be issued by four provincial governments in the mainland on a trial basis will have negative implications on both government bonds and rates markets, says the British bank.

Renminbi lending has expanded by over seven times to Rmb15 billion for the first nine months of 2011. Credit Suisse expects this to balloon further in Hong Kong, utilizing the over Rmb600 billion deposits in the banking system.

ICBC (Asia) is hitting the headlines with plans to issue the first Basel III compliant debt issued from a Hong Kong bank and the first subordinated debt to come from the City’s offshore renminbi market.

Bank of East Asia, Sun Hung Kai Properties and Korea Development Bank approached investors with international bonds this week, delivering — in some style — proof that the market is fully open for good credits.

China’s Dalian Port (PDA) raised Rmb400m ($62.9m) in the offshore renminbi market this week, getting less than it had originally hoped for after lacklustre demand during execution.

ICBC Asia, an offshore arm of Industrial Commercial Bank of China, looks set to be the first bank to sell subordinated debt in the offshore renminbi bond market and is already pitching investors on a deal that could be launched next week.