Asia Pacific

Flutter Entertainment, the parent of bookies Paddy Power and Betfair, has sold £812m of new shares to institutional investors to reduce debt and position itself for further growth once sporting events around the world are allowed to resume and its retail stores are permitted to reopen.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has hired banks for a renminbi sustainable development bond, its first outing in the Panda market.

In this round-up, tensions between the US and China rise dramatically after China says it would impose a national security law on Hong Kong SAR, and the USD/CNH exchange rate reacts strongly to the latest developments.

More borrowers navigated Covid-19 related pressure and rising US-China tensions to raise funds from the dollar bond market on Thursday.

South Korean firm Big Hit Entertainment, manager of popular K-pop boy band BTS, has applied for a preliminary review of its IPO with the Korea Exchange.

In this round-up, China’s central bank injects liquidity into the market through reverse repos over four consecutive days, industrial profit growth rebounds in April from recent lows, and officials will work on guidelines for Panda bonds from SSA issuers.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has approved a $750m loan to the Philippines to help it recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Geely Automobile Holdings has tapped the equity market for the first time for 11 years, raising HK$6.48bn ($836m) from an overnight share sale.

Hong Kong’s capital markets were left roiling this week as investors tried to grasp the significance of a new national security law. Some fund managers are jumping on opportunities amid the ensuing confusion, but other market watchers see the city losing its financial edge. Jonathan Breen reports.

Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings raised $6bn from a four-tranche transaction on Wednesday. The deal, which attracted some $36bn of orders at its peak, proved that global investors are not being scared away from Chinese credits, despite the geopolitical risks clouding the country. Morgan Davis reports.

China is reviving the issuance of its special treasury bonds, a funding tool it has not used since the financial crisis. But bankers were underwhelmed by the Rmb1tr ($140bn) size target — and are also hoping for clarity on how the ‘anti-pandemic’ deal will be financed. Addison Gong reports.

Citic Securities Co made its first dollar bond outing of the year on Wednesday, raising $1bn from a dual-tranche deal.