China

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China tapped the sterling market through its London branch on Wednesday to become the first Chinese bank to sell a senior benchmark bond in the currency. Demand was driven by an anchor investor, with the lead managers increasing the size of deal to satisfy as many orders as possible.

Ford Automotive Finance sold a Rmb4.776bn ($694m) four-tranche auto loan ABS on Tuesday, its biggest ABS so far, pricing the three senior tranches at tight levels.

Cofco International, a commodities trading unit of China’s agri-products company Cofco, has increased its sustainability-linked loan to $2.3bn after receiving commitments from 21 lenders.

Chinese real estate company Country Garden has closed its $1.1bn-equivalent syndicated loan.

Chinese sportswear manufacturer Xtep International Holdings has returned to the loan market for a HK$1.6bn ($204m) refinancing deal that is open only to existing lenders.

Agricultural Bank of China’s Hong Kong branch raised $1bn from a single tranche floating rate note on Tuesday, pricing the deal tighter than its large Chinese state-owned banking peers.

Chinese delivery services company SF Express is seeking a HK$5bn ($640m) syndicated loan to refinance a bridge facility used to support its acquisition of Deutsche Post DHL’s supply chain business in the Mainland.

The first 25 companies that started trading on the new Shanghai tech board on Monday skyrocketed, as Chinese investors welcomed the Nasdaq-style equity market with frenzied trading. As the excitement cooled on Tuesday, the bourse’s performance shows that regulators must not just focus on market reform, but also on market participants.

Chinese local government-owned Dalian Deta Holdings Co has debuted in the international bond market for $300m, while repeat issuer KWG Group priced a tight transaction on Monday.

Chinese real estate developer Zhenro Properties Group has raised HK$1.21bn ($154.8m) from a top-up share placement.

Geely Automobile Holdings has made a rapid return to China’s auto loan ABS market with a Rmb4bn ($581.5m) deal that was a hit with the onshore arms of international banks. While the class A1 tranche was priced tightly, the issuer had to pay up for the mezzanine portion.

Concerns around some Indonesian and Chinese credits, including Delta Merlin Dunia Textile and China Minsheng Investment Group, have put a dent in investor sentiment in Asia with bonds underperforming in the secondary market.