China

It has been more than a decade in the making, but China is said to have at last finalised draft guidelines for Panda bond issuers, giving the market some much-needed clarity. But questions still remain, especially around the repatriation of proceeds. Paolo Danese reports.

Australia bars Huawei and ZTE from providing 5G services in the country, Malaysian leader pulls country out of Belt and Road projects, and the Shanghai Stock Exchange hosts the issuance of the first local government bond with a tenor of 20 years in China.

Regulator removes ownership limit in Chinese banks for international lenders, China’s central bank vows support for businesses amid trade war escalation, Beijing and Washington fail to reach concrete agreements after two days of discussions.

Chinese regulators flipped the switch on delivery-versus-payment (DVP) for Bond Connect on Friday morning, meeting a key demand that market participants have made for over a year.

Redco Properties Group sold a $200m two year bond on Thursday, joining a growing list of issuers that have relied on anchor support for their fundraisings.

Chinese agribusiness company New Hope Group has returned to the loan market for an up to $150m borrowing to refinance a deal sealed in 2015.

At least $8bn in IPOs from Asian issuers could hit screens in September alone, if everything goes according to plan. But with investor sentiment still on the rocks despite the mid-year lull coming to a close, equity capital markets bankers are hoping for a swift end to what has been a summer of volatility. John Loh reports.

The first onshore China default from a local government financing vehicle (LGFV) has come as a shock to bankers and investors, but the negative news has not had a big impact on sentiment in the international bonds market. One LGFV sold a dollar bond this week and more are lining up, writes Addison Gong.

Chinese bond issuers were the first out of the gate on Thursday, vying for investors’ attention after public holidays in many parts of Asia shut markets on Wednesday.

While discussions around the possibility of a formal Southbound channel for Bond Connect continue, Chinese regulators have been testing the ground with new initiatives that allow onshore securities houses to tap overseas bonds, GlobalRMB has learned.

Mercedes-Benz Auto Finance has completed the tightest auto asset-backed securitization by any foreign originator in China in almost two years. The deal, which closed on Monday, was twice oversubscribed despite two underwriters dropping out of the syndicate at the eleventh hour.

Chinese industrial name Fufeng Group raised $350m from a bond on Tuesday, offering a coupon step-up to show its commitment to maintaining its investment grade rating from S&P. Logan Property Holdings Co also separately bagged $300m on the same day.