China

The US’s announcement this week that it was putting a whole host of Chinese companies on its blacklist for alleged involvement in human rights abuses is set to hit some of them hard. One of the victims is artificial intelligence (AI) leader Megvii Technology, which has been working on a billion-dollar Hong Kong IPO that will now be a challenge. Jonathan Breen reports.

Stocks listed on Shanghai’s new Star market could soon be included in MSCI’s index if they meet requirements, the index provider said on Wednesday.

Fangdd Network Group, an online platform for real estate agents, is planning an IPO on the Nasdaq, having filed draft documents with the US securities regulator this week.

State-owned hydropower company China Three Gorges Corp made a rare visit to the dollar bond market, extending its maturity profile to 30 years.

Health and Happiness International Holdings and Shui On Land have both made swift returns to the loan market for tightly priced deals.

Bank of China broke new ground for Asia this week with the region’s first floating rate bond linked to the secured overnight financing rate (Sofr). But a host of challenges around payment calculations and liquidity mean other issuers will be slower to embrace this new benchmark. Addison Gong reports.

Chinese property company Ronshine China Holdings brought its 2022 notes to the market again on Wednesday, tapping the 8.75% bonds for a second time and adding $265m to its coffers.

The Export-Import Bank of China (Chexim) came to the bond market in two currencies on Tuesday to raise $1.068bn, pricing the euro tranche at an impressive zero coupon.

Q&K International Group has filed for a Nasdaq IPO of American Depository Shares (ADS) with an aim to raise up to $100m.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) and traditional Chinese medicine maker Sinopharm Group are both plotting their returns to the Panda bond market.

Investors have mixed feelings about bonds from Chinese property companies, but a likely supply-demand rebalance could signal yet another honeymoon period for the sector.

Commodities company Trafigura has closed its annual dual-tranche borrowing, increasing the deal from $1bn-equivalent to around $1.5bn.