China

Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) has obtained approval from the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) to become the first commercial issuer of bonds denominated in Special Drawing Rights (SDR) in the country’s interbank bond market.

Deutsche Bank has hired a senior banker from UBS for the newly created role of Asia Pacific head of financial sponsors coverage.

Dongfeng Nissan Auto Finance is in the market with its second auto ABS of the year, opening books for a Rmb4bn ($595m) VINZ 2016-2 Retail Auto Loan Securitization on Thursday.

TUS Holdings and a government financing vehicle from Zhuzhou sealed their respective bond offerings on Wednesday, with the former raking in $500m and the latter $300m.

China’s push to elevate the global status of the renminbi seems to be working well with the currency’s usage rate among global corporates going from strength to strength, according to the results of HSBC’s 2016 RMB Internationalisation Survey.

A diverse group of issuers forged ahead with their respective fundraisings on Thursday, seeking everything from dollars to Singapore dollars and green debt.

Already a pioneering issuer in the currency, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) believes greater regulatory clarity will provide a fresh boost to its onshore and offshore renminbi funding plans, Monish Mahurkar, director for treasury market operations, told GlobalRMB.

There has been plenty of market attention this week on the movement of the onshore renminbi with China resuming normal service following the end of the Golden Week holidays. While the CNY did break through the psychological Rmb6.7 barrier against the US dollar, more volatility is expected thanks to a strengthening greenback.

Hesteel Hong Kong Corp, part of China’s Hesteel Group, is seeking liquidity for a $150m three year bullet in the offshore loan market.

Chinese issuers are returning to the international bond market after a one week national holiday, with TUS Holdings and Zhuzhou City Construction Development Group heading out with their deals.

Renminbi globalisation has been successful so far, but now the low-hanging fruit has been picked, Chinese authorities will struggle to push through the next round of reforms, according to Eswar Prasad, professor at Cornell University and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

It has been three years since China launched the landmark Shanghai Free Trade Zone with the area originally envisioned as the blueprint for further reforms throughout the country. While market participants are disappointed by the authorities’ continued grip on capital controls, they are happy with the overall direction of the FTZ scheme.