China

HSBC has received approval from China Securities Regulatory Commission to set up a majority-owned joint venture securities company — HSBC Qianhai Securities — in the Mainland. The regulatory clearance comes about a year-and-a-half after the UK lender announced the JV.

Chinese commercial lender Zhongyuan Bank has opened the books on its HK$8.34bn ($1.1bn) IPO after securing commitments from three cornerstone investors for about half the deal.

Modern Land (China) Co grabbed $130m from its green bond on Thursday, but the pricing of the notes did not move throughout bookbuilding as investors were less than impressed with the high yield credit.

Foreign institutional investors can settle their trades on a T+2 basis in China’s interbank bond market (CIBM), according to a June 29 announcement. The move will boost international investors’ confidence in accessing the Mainland fixed income market, according to participants.

Chinese company Avic International Leasing has increased the size of its latest syndicated loan to $200m from $150m.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) came closer to making its debut as a borrower in the international bond markets on Thursday when it received its first triple-A credit rating. As its treasurer, Søren Elbech, approaches the day when the AIIB awards its first mandate, the borrower's plans for its funding mix, staffing and debut deal are taking shape.

A €179.4m loan to support Chinese company Aier Eye Hospital Group’s acquisition of Spanish firm Clinica Baviera has entered syndication with three banks at the helm. The deal is another example of Mainland firms’ eagerness to expand overseas, which is in turn giving the country’s lenders with similar ambitions a leg-up as they venture into relatively unexplored markets. Shruti Chaturvedi reports.

Fantasia Holdings Group returned to the high yield bond market for the second time this month, but was forced to pay heavily for a $300m deal.

High yield bond spreads widened out this week as investors suffered from indigestion after heavy supply from Chinese issuers. The buy-side is now more eager than ever for investment grade issuers to hit the market. Morgan Davis reports.

Chinese property developer Modern Land (China) Co is making a comeback to the international green bond market, opening books for a short-term trade on Thursday morning.

The RMB regained its position as the sixth most used currency for payments globally in May, beating the Swiss franc to the title by a very narrow margin, according to Swift's RMB tracker. The Chinese currency accounted for 1.61% of all payments last month.

The entry of A-shares into MSCI’s emerging market index was quickly dismissed by China bears as a non-event, given the tiny weighting Chinese equities will have in the index. But sceptics should learn from history that small weightings often make a big difference to RMB internationalisation — and MSCI’s A-share inclusion might just be an example of that.