China

An official with the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) has slammed a much-discussed plan to link the Mainland and Hong Kong primary equity markets.

There was a rare sighting in the Panda bond market this week, as international investors outnumbered their onshore counterparts. The Republic of the Philippines completed its first transaction in the asset class, taking home Rmb1.46bn ($230.8m).

Beijing Capital Group debuted in the green bond market on Monday with a $600m-equivalent deal featuring dollars and offshore renminbi (CNH), finding enough buy-side support to tighten pricing by over 20bp on both the tranches.

China’s Qinghai Provincial Investment Group Co was forced to pay up around 75bp in new issue premium to complete a $250m bond on Friday, as investors voiced their scepticism about the low rated issuer.

China’s Gangtai Group Co and Yango Group Co both sold bonds with 1.5 year tenors at the end of last week, catering to the Asian buy-side’s demand for short duration. Their transactions have raised expectations of more short-term issuance from high yield companies.

China’s OneSmart International Education Group opened books for its $211.9m IPO of American Depository Shares (ADS) on Monday.

While underwriters in the international markets tend to have an important role in price discovery and distribution, some of China’s onshore banks are trying something different and are acting nothing like underwriters.

Baidu-backed video streaming platform iQiyi kicked off bookbuilding for its $2.38bn US listing on Monday and was covered quickly.

The Chinese leadership picks Yi Gang as the next governor of the People’s Bank of China, Chinese bankers are confident about the prospect of the country’s economy, and Panama prepares to sell $500m worth of Panda bonds by the end of the year.

European corporations have had an easier time selling Panda bonds than those from other parts of the world, thanks to Chinese regulators’ acceptance of their accounting standards. But a recent deal with a guarantee structure — a rarity in the budding asset class — appears to threaten that ease of access.

Shanghai-listed MeiHua Holdings Group has launched its debut international loan, seeking $200m through a single bookrunner.

Regulators prepare for the introduction of Chinese depository receipts (CDRs), the US Federal Reserve scolds Industrial and Commercial Bank of China for failing to comply with anti-money laundering rules, and China holds less US Treasury bonds in January.