China

A stable renminbi will make Chinese bonds and equities more attractive, but China will need to enhance the sophistication of its market before it can attract foreign capital on scale, according to Helen Zhu, head of China equities at BlackRock.

Bank of China launched its multi-currency, multi-tranche transaction on Tuesday morning, as Citic Securities also opened books for two tranches of dollar notes.

Asia’s primary DCM market is busy on Tuesday ahead of the long Easter weekend, with Lianyungang Port Group, China Oil and Gas Group, Yida China Holdings and Golden Wheel Tiandi Holdings Company opening books for their respective dollar bonds.

The Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) on Sunday announced the launch of a Shanghai Gold futures contract, increasing foreign investors' access to China's bullion market.

China’s auto ABS market is heating up after a third deal was announced within a week. Mercedes-Benz Auto Finance’s Silver Arrow China 2017-1 is the latest, featuring two hard credit enhancements and a liquidity support of a general reserve amount.

UBS has appointed May Yan as a managing director to lead its equity research coverage of Greater China financials, according to a memo seen by GlobalCapital Asia.

Foreign investors looking for opportunities in China will now have seven new free trade zones to choose from, following a low-key launch on March 31. While the impact of the individual zones will take time to evaluate, some argue the new FTZs could address China’s capital outflow problems.

Bank of China, CCB Life Insurance and Citic Securities kicked off investor meetings and calls this week, in pursuit of Reg S deals.

Yida China Holdings, Peking University Founder Group Company, Red Star Macalline Group Corp and HKICIM Group are looking to hit the offshore debt market, mandating banks for their respective Reg S transactions on Monday.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (Safe) reports rise in foreign reserves, China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) chief is under investigation over misconduct, and no formal agreement emerges following Xi Jinping’s meeting with Donald Trump.

Mainland authorities have promised that the China-Hong Kong Bond Connect will launch this year. But several questions remain on how the scheme will handle price discovery and clearing, according to post-trade services provider DTCC, which is working with CFETS on its own onshore-offshore link.

China Jinmao Holdings is coming to the Panda bond market for the first time with Rmb2.5bn ($362.7m) worth of three year medium term notes, the company said in an April 6 announcement.