Asia Pacific

China Xinhua Education Group has launched bookbuilding for its HK$1.5bn ($188.3m) IPO, the first Mainland education provider to hit the Hong Kong market this year.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) lifts restrictions on foreign investors seeking a majority stake in local securities firms, lawmakers consent to move to scrap the two-term presidential limit, and the Chinese commerce minister says the country will not fight a trade war with the US.

Hong Kong’s market regulator is planning to ban UBS from sponsoring any IPOs in the city for 18 months, according to a section in the bank’s 2017 annual report released on Friday.

Dongfeng Nissan Auto Finance stuck to the strategy from its last transaction in October 2017 — of selling a fixed-rate note accompanied by a floating-rate tranche — as it returned to the Chinese asset-backed securities market on Thursday, raising Rmb4.5bn ($709.2m).

In the third of a four-part series of articles on China’s financial transformation, cash management experts tell GlobalRMB the wheels are again in motion for foreign corporations in China to move past nearly three years of strict capital controls that have all but killed their intent of using the country as a regional treasury hub.

Indian state-owned defence giant Hindustan Aeronautics has announced the price range for its potential Rp42.3bn ($649.6m) IPO, which is set to hit screens next week, according to a source close to the deal.

Gas supplier Air Liquide raised Rmb2.2bn ($347m) from its first Panda bond on March 6, becoming the first European issuer sell a bond with a maturity of longer than three years in the asset class.

Shenzhen Sunway Communications has made a quick switch to Hong Kong dollars for its debut in the offshore loans market to take advantage of recent Hibor weakness.

The Philippines’ Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC) found tepid investor demand for its dollar transaction on Thursday, but managed to raise $300m from the bond.

Taizhou Huaxin Pharmaceutical Investment Co executed a club-style deal on Thursday, raising $150m from a three year bond. It wasn’t the only Chinese firm wooing the buy-side. State-owned Tewoo Group opted for a perpetual deal, while Shimao Property Holdings tapped the offshore renminbi (CNH) market for the first time.

China Resources Land tapped the Panda bond market for the first time since July 2017, raising Rmb6bn ($945.6m). But few onshore investors who bought the three year bond looked at the trade as a real Panda, according to bankers on the deal.

India’s National Stock Exchange (NSE) is likely to delay its long-awaited IPO to the 2019 financial year after the country’s market regulator sent back the bourse’s consent plea on an issue around co-location, amid an ongoing investigation.