Asia Pacific

Germany's RMB hub has seen slow action since its establishment in 2014, but a Bond Connect service established by Clearstream and the upcoming offering of D-shares on the China Europe International Exchange (Ceinex) could turn things around.

Asia’s debt market is heading into March at full speed with seven issuers opening new deals on Monday. Borrowers need to be quick on their feet and act promptly over the next month to get their bonds past the finish line, said bankers in the region.

The Communist Party changes the constitution to allow Xi Jinping to serve a third term as president, banking watchdog standardises market entry rules for local and international banks, and China’s legislature approves a two-year extension for the registration-based IPO system.

Bright Scholar Education Holdings is out with its first follow-on offering since its IPO last May, and is gunning for about $200m.

Sunlands Online Education Group is planning an up to $300m IPO of American Depository Shares (ADS), according to a draft prospectus submitted to the US regulator on February 23.

Outstanding bonds issued by Vivat NV, the Dutch insurance group, suffered on Friday morning after its parent company Anbang Insurance Group was seized by Chinese authorities — but a sale to a European firm could provide an upside for bondholders.

The Government of the Republic of Indonesia raised $1.25bn on Thursday in the first green sukuk from a sovereign, paving the way for more green issuance from Asian countries.

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) has released its long-awaited guidelines on dual-class shares, clearing the way for Chinese firms such as Alibaba Group Holdings to have a secondary listing in the city for the first time.

Redco Properties Group priced an opportunistic transaction on Thursday, raising a larger-than-expected $300m. Unlike some other 364-day deals, its transaction saw strong support from real money accounts.

Malaysia’s RHB Bank is deepening its presence in Vietnam with the full acquisition of Vietnam Securities Corp (VSEC), a stock brokerage and corporate finance outfit.

Chinese leasing firm Far East Horizon was one of the first issuers to reopen the international bond market after a lull of more than a week, raising $300m from a dual-currency transaction on Thursday. But it was forced to pay up for the dollar portion due to lingering volatility in the market.

Singapore-listed Sembcorp Industries is planning to spin-off and list its Indian energy unit, which will raise Rp41bn ($632.2m) from a fresh issue of stock, according to a draft red herring prospectus filed on Thursday.