Asia Pacific

The Chinese local government financing vehicle (LGFV) sector ran into some trouble this week, causing a sell-off in the secondary market and a primary deal to be pulled. The fallout from the events could lead to a challenging start to 2020, writes Addison Gong.

After a bruising year for Hong Kong’s stock markets, investor sentiment has rebounded in recent weeks. There is renewed optimism among fund managers, which is fuelling interest in the SAR’s ECM deals as 2019 draws to a close. Aidan Gregory and Jonathan Breen report.

Hebei-based steelmaker HBIS Group raised $300m from a bond this week ahead of an April maturity. It hit the market when investor confidence was shaken by recent and upcoming defaults from China.

OneConnect Financial Technology Co, a unit of Chinese conglomerate Ping An Group, reduced the size and price range of its New York Stock Exchange listing on Wednesday, a day before it was to be priced.

Chinese state-owned commodities trader Tewoo Group has announced the final results of its offshore debt restructuring, with investors accepting losses on their principals or facing delayed repayments up to 2039.

Indian Oil Corp’s Canadian subsidiary, IndOil Montney, has returned to the loan market for a C$580m ($438m) five year deal. Unlike the last time, when it was primarily focusing on US and Canadian banks, the latest deal is targeting Asian liquidity.

Shangrao Investment Holding Group Co tried to brave the market with a three year bond on Tuesday despite a volatile start to the week for local government financing vehicles (LGFVs), but it ended up pulling the dollar transaction.

The Park Hotels, an Indian luxury hotel chain, is planning to go public next year through an IPO of new and existing shares, according to a source close to the deal.

Langham Hospitality Investments has closed a HK$7.5bn ($958m) sustainability-linked deal with 11 lenders, marking the first loan of its kind from the hospitality sector in Asia.

French company Veolia Environnement is set to return to the Panda bond market after more than a year away. It has mandated banks for its third outing in China’s debt market.

Wynn Macau, a hotel and casino resort, raised $1bn from its bond return on Tuesday, surpassing expectations on both size and price.

Equity markets, particularly European ones, are largely focusing on the UK election as the last opportunity for pre-Christmas volatility. But investors should remember that other shocks remain possible, including the scheduled imposition of US trade tariffs on China on Sunday.