Asia Pacific

German lender Deutsche Bank has launched the first tradable offshore renminbi bonds index this week. It hopes the product will spur greater secondary market trading in the new asset class.

Singaporean water management provider Hyflux priced an oversubscribed S$100m ($82.1m) bond on Thursday, turning to private banks to help close a deal while investors in other markets stuck to the sidelines.

Gazprombank is planning to place a $500m-$1bn three to five year Eurobond later this year, said a member of the bank’s board.

The country’s foreign exchange reserves, which are already the biggest in the world, grew to a record of US$3.2 trillion at the end of June thanks to growing foreign investments, the country’s central bank said.

The Chinese cement company is planning to tap the offshore renminbi bond markets for the first time after raising US$400 million via dollar bonds in May. It has appointed four banks to arrange investor meetings in Asia this week.

The British bank believes that the squeeze of domestic liquidity and other factors will lead more borrowers to tap the offshore renminbi market, leading levels of issuance to soar this year.

The country’s financial regulator has proposed allowing the island’s domestic insurance companies to invest in offshore renminbi products with an aggregate investment quota of up to TWD400 billion (US$13.9 billion), in hopes of boosting investment returns.

Wilmar signs increased deal after 16 lenders join facility

Two FIG Samurai transactions have been pulled in the space of a week suggesting the market is beginning to flag for FIG borrowers.