China

A trio of Chinese firms begun pursuing IPOs in the US this week that could raise more than $1bn between them.

China has not done enough to ease the concerns of international bond investors about onshore market access and risk — a failure which is set to torpedo the chances of Chinese bonds of entering Bloomberg-Barclays Global Aggregate Index this year, a Goldman Sachs economist has said.

Property giant China Vanke Co and HNA Group Co came to the market on Thursday with dollar bonds, taking vastly different approaches. Vanke opted for a tenor of 10 years, but HNA kept it ultra-short.

China’s ability to lock in a $2bn tightly priced bond sale last week after a 13 year hiatus from the market comes as little surprise. But the price that China received, and the statements it made with the sale are worth talking about. This triumphant dollar bond return not only squeezed bond prices to new lows, but it also allowed China to prove that it does not need foreign investors — it wants them.

Many international investors are refraining from participating in Bond Connect because they still have little clue on how their investments will be taxed, as well as hoping for more institutions to offer FX liquidity to the scheme, according to market participants.

China Huarong Asset Management Co priced an almost $3.4bn five tranche bond in two currencies on Tuesday, restarting supply from Chinese financial institutions after the sovereign repriced the curve last week.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China is marketing a dollar bond deal spanning three tranches through its New York branch.

China Minmetals Corporation, a state-owned enterprise, turned to bond investors on Wednesday with its first dollar perpetual bond, quickly following up a roadshow earlier this week.

Chinese online peer-to-peer lending platform PPDAI Group has launched bookbuilding for an IPO of American Depository Shares.

Standard Chartered has added a debt capital markets banker with over 10 years of experience to its team in Hong Kong, bolstering the Greater China business.

Chinese listings in the US are continuing at a breakneck pace, with three more companies hitting the road this week. But a recent plummet in the price of freshly-listed micro-lender Qudian shows investors will need to hold their nerves.

Yixin Group is pre-marketing a Hong Kong IPO to raise between $700m to $800m. The bookbuild is set to start next week.