China

The Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges have agreed to include Hong Kong listed dual-class shares in the Stock Connect trading programme. This could just be what the HKEX’s two lonely weighted voting rights (WVRs) stocks, Xiaomi Corp and Meituan Dianping, need, said bankers and analysts. Jonathan Breen reports.

Rising tensions between the US and China, coupled with a mass strike in Hong Kong at the start of the week, caused a sell-off not just in the city’s stocks market but also across Asian bonds. While sentiment has recovered slowly, the market turbulence is set to keep equity and bond bankers on their toes. Jonathan Breen, Morgan Davis and Addison Gong report.

Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC) has thrown open a €2.2bn-equivalent loan to support its acquisition of a minority stake in German automaker Daimler.

China Construction Bank had no trouble selling a Rmb9.87bn ($1.4bn) residential mortgage backed securities deal on Tuesday amid rising trade concerns, thanks to support from its underwriter group.

The US finally labelled China a currency manipulator this week, a day after the renminbi weakened to below the psychological level of seven against the dollar. With China clearly indicating its willingness to open a new front in the trade war, the stage is set for an increase in rhetoric between the two countries.

Credit Suisse's head of Greater China debt capital markets has quit the bank, according to sources.

Chinese biotechnology company Venus Medtech (Huangzhou) is seeking approval to list in Hong Kong, having filed a draft prospectus with the city’s bourse on Monday.

Asia’s primary bond market was quiet for the second day in a row on Tuesday, as investors continued to remain wary about rising tensions between the US and China.

John Flint quit his position as CEO of HSBC on Monday after less than two years in the job, as the bank warned of difficult global conditions in its second quarter results. The bank’s chair Mark Tucker implied the desire for change related to a problem with Flint’s execution of the bank’s strategy, rather than the strategy itself, but the departure has also raised questions about HSBC’s Chinese operations.

The renminbi fell beyond seven against the dollar on Monday morning for the first time in a decade, in what is viewed as China’s response to its worsening relations with the US.

China Lesso Group Holding has launched a $900m four year borrowing into general syndication.

In this round-up, the renminbi dropped below seven per US dollar for the first time since the global financial crisis, Hong Kong-listed companies with weighted voting rights are set to be included in the Stock Connect and regulators will score securities houses based on their ability to manage public opinion.