China

China Construction Bank Corp and Bank of Communications Co snapped up investors on Monday when they offered up multiple tranches of floating rate dollar bonds through their Hong Kong branches.

Foreign ownership reform in the Chinese financial sector is not only a landmark in the country’s opening up, but also a strategic move to rebalance US-China trade. But recent guidelines curtailing banking sector liberalisation appear to be a case of one step forward, two steps back for China. Now more than ever, Beijing must not let its caution around financial risk take over and undo its strategy.

The sheer amount of dollar bond issuance seen this month in Asia, and the expected supply heading into the year end, has taken a bit of a toll on the market, with a handful of deals pulled and many others suffering in secondary. But there is a silver lining. Issuers in the region are being forced to think hard, communicate better and push the boundaries — things which can only make the market stronger.

Chinese financial services provider Far East Horizon priced a subordinated perpetual bond on Monday, grabbing an open issuance window ahead of heavy expected supply. Its deal came with a rather unique structure to qualify for equity credit from the rating agencies.

Beijing Capital (Hong Kong) is back in the loan market after a gap of more than one year for a HK$2bn ($256m) fundraising.

Financial market participants will need to embrace the rise of new technology to survive the transition to a post-cash society, an area where China is taking the lead, Andi Dervishi, CIO and global head of fintech, e-payments and new finance at International Finance Corp (IFC), told a conference in Hangzhou.

Chinese issuers are yet again dominating the supply in Asia ex-Japan debt markets, with four firms wooing dollar and euro bond investors on Tuesday.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has added another name to its growing treasury team, with the hire again coming from a fellow supranational issuer.

The surge in dollar bond issuance from Asia ex-Japan continued unabated at the tail end of last week, with three issuers selling $1.1bn of deals on Friday.

Investors are broadly positive on the policy direction set by China’s 19th Party Congress, said experts at Euromoney’s Hangzhou Global Investment Conference on November 21.

Nissin Foods Co kicked off bookbuilding for its HK$1.1bn ($144.8m) Hong Kong IPO on Monday, with several Japanese trading giants and a Singaporean beverage company joining as cornerstone investors.

Bank of Communications Co’s Hong Kong branch is in the market with a two-part floating rate transaction, going head to head with peer China Construction Bank, which is also taking bids for a new bond.