Asia Pacific

Hong Kong Airlines is set to provide the year’s first test case of the strength of the Asian debt market as investors lose faith in the carrier’s ability to repay a $550m bond due in just over two weeks.

In this round-up, People’s Bank of China (PBoC) cut the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) by 100bp, Shanghai-London Stock Connect likely postponed to late January, and Li Keqiang encourages big commercial banks to support the private sector.

Panda bonds could take a back seat in the first quarter of 2019 due to the expected increase in issuance of local government bonds and as banks focus on their own funding needs, according to onshore DCM bankers.

The Republic of the Philippines opened books for a dollar-denominated 10 year bond on Monday morning, making it the first Asian sovereign to visit the international debt market in 2019.

A senior loans syndicate banker at Bank of China (Hong Kong) has left the firm, according to a source close to the situation.

Wayne Green, head of loan syndicate and sales for Asia Pacific at BNP Paribas, has relocated to Sydney for another position, according to sources close to the situation.

Electricité de France, the Paris-based electricity company, raised a Rmb122m ($17.8m) one year bilateral loan through Crédit Agricole CIB (China) on December 20.

Hong Kong-based Kerry Logistics Network is planning to raise around $300m from an IPO of its Thai business.

Mr DIY Group, Malaysia’s largest home improvement retailer, is planning for an IPO of around $500m this year, according to ECM bankers involved in the discussions.

China Aoyuan Group stayed a step ahead of its property peers by raising a comfortable $275m from a tap of its 2021 notes on Thursday, one of two dollar bonds to be priced in Asia so far in the new year.

Guangzhou R&F Properties Co started the new year by tackling its upcoming bond maturity head on, selling a $500m note on Thursday to refinance a February deal.

VPBank Finance has made a quick comeback to the international syndications market for a $130m borrowing with a short one year tenor.