China

Modern Land (China) Co sold its third green dollar bond on Tuesday, as it remains the only Chinese green issuer from the high yield property sector.

Qatar National Bank and Bank of China kept the momentum going in the offshore renminbi bond market this week, with the latter’s Rmb4bn ($632m) deal the largest in nearly three years. Their success is an encouraging sign about appetite for the currency.

Senior fixed income banker Michael Luk has joined CLSA as global head of debt capital markets, after a one year stint with the Singapore Exchange.

Baidu-backed video streaming service iQiyi and Chinese hotel operator GreenTree Hospitality Group are readying a pair of US IPOs for the end of March to raise a combined $1.7bn.

Dongfeng Nissan Auto Finance will be returning to the Chinese asset-backed securities market on March 8 with a Rmb4.5bn ($710m) dual-tranche deal on the interbank market — the largest transaction by a foreign name originator so far this year.

Syndication of a $1bn loan for Lenovo Group got off to a roaring start with an encouraging turnout from banks at a Hong Kong roadshow this week. The Chinese company has made it clear it wants to recapture the top spot in the global personal computer market, but bankers are wary about how the firm will look to meet its goals. Shruti Chaturvedi reports.

Investors interested in Chinese property bonds had plenty to choose from this week. Eight high yield real estate names raised more than $2.4bn in dollar bonds, with yields ranging from low-6% to over 10%.

China's banking watchdog has scrapped approval requirements for foreign banks on a series of business lines, including for launching so-called ‘offshore wealth management services’. But banks will not benefit from the change unless China also relaxes its tight grip in other areas, such as control on capital flows, lawyers and analysts said this week.

Qatar National Bank (QNB) kept the momentum in the offshore renminbi bond market going with a new issuance on Tuesday, showing there is still appetite for the currency.

Four of the six deals in the primary market in Asia on Tuesday were from Chinese real estate companies. But despite the inevitable competitive dynamics between the trades, Modern Land (China) Co, Yuzhou Properties Company, Guorui Properties and Tahoe Group Co were all able to meet their targets.

China’s startling transformation continued last year, with the opening up the domestic bond market to foreign investors, the rise in renminbi volatility, and an all-important party meeting that cemented the power of Xi Jinping. Over the course of four in-depth articles, GlobalRMB will examine the key themes that will define this transformation in 2018. First up: the move to bring more foreign bond investors into the country.

China may seem out of the woods, given the strong GDP growth recorded in 2017 and the coordinated crackdown on leverage in its financial system, but the true reckoning has yet to come, leading China economist Michael Pettis tells GlobalRMB.