Asia Pacific

Asian bond volumes soared this year, breaking records with $350bn of issuance. Can 2018 possibly be any better? Addison Gong attempts to find out.

Back in my day, senior bankers knew the ins and outs of every trade that came across their desks. But it’s a whole different world now for those still in the industry.

Guirenniao Co was forced to pull its dollar bond on Tuesday as a result of unfavourable market conditions, as thinning liquidity in Asia at the year end took a toll on the issuer.

Chinese banks have enjoyed a stellar year for dollar additional tier one capital issuance, with Bank of Chongqing becoming the latest to join the party, achieving its target size and price on Wednesday.

Indian ECM bankers are lining up for a bumper end to the year, with a string of state-owned financial institutions preparing qualified institutional placements (QIPs). Jonathan Breen reports.

Kazakhstan’s 24th largest lender Tengri Bank was asking investors this week to extend financing amounting to over 50% of its total assets. The bemused buy-side is not exactly piling in.

China Orient Asset Management Corp pulled off an end of the year $2bn triple-tranche bond on Wednesday, but was forced to give investors a generous premium to get the deal done.

Foreign market participants in China are closely watching the implementation of new ownership rules for the financial sector, seeing the move as a test of president Xi Jinping's commitment to reform in his second term.

Shandong Hi-Speed Group Co (SDHS) and China Fortune Land Development Co are both taking bids for unrated three year dollar bonds on Thursday.

WuXi Biologics Holdings, which listed in Hong Kong in June in a hugely popular IPO, raised HK$5.07bn ($649m) from a block trade that was increased in size on the back of strong investor demand.

Macau’s Luso International Banking, a subsidiary of Xiamen International Bank Co, began marketing a subordinated dollar bond on Thursday morning.

LexinFintech, a Chinese online consumer lender, has shrunk the size of a mooted Nasdaq IPO to $132m from its original target of around $500m, after regulatory changes in China put the sector in a negative light.