Asia Pacific

Taiwan’s Advanced Semiconductor Engineering made its debut in the offshore renminbi bond market last week, selling a dual-tranche deal that got a lot of demand from Taiwanese corporations — and capped a busy week in a market that has become something of a haven for battered bankers and investors.

Various foreign borrowers are tapping the offshore renminbi bonds in Hong Kong this week, adding needed-variety to the city’s offshore renminbi bond market.

The UK capital intends to become the next offshore renminbi centre and some observers feel that it could beat Singapore to this goal, although approval could be some way away.

Asiamoney PLUS provides a quick overview of what it means to set up an offshore renminbi trading centre, following news about the City of London’s ambitions.

British-based oil company BP made its debut in the offshore renminbi bond market this week, lining up an approval from the Chinese government to remit the proceeds before it pushed ahead with the Rmb700m ($109.4m) deal.

UK-based oil company BP and French gas producer Air Liquide rushed to the dim sum bond market this week, adding some foreign spice to a menu that also featured a debut issue from Hainan Airlines.

Cheung Kong Holdings defied the silence in primary bond markets last week, drawing enough demand from yield-hungry investors to close a senior perpetual bond issue worth S$500m ($415.4m).

Foreign lenders are taking advantage of the robust renminbi business to expand their operations in China’s financial hub; data from the country’s banking regulator shows.

China Citic Bank is planning to raise as much as Rmb30bn ($4.7bn) in the offshore renminbi bond market, adding to a growing pipeline of deals from mainland financial institutions that some investors fear could be hard to swallow.