China

Falling oil prices and China concerns sent credit spreads to the record wides of recent years this week as equity markets plummeted, with a credit index options expiry coming right at the sharp end of the spike and adding to the turmoil.

While China’s impact on equity markets may have been catastrophic of late, not everything coming out of China is bad news. China’s appetite for gobbling up European firms is high, which should give Europe's debt bankers reason to cheer, despite the market misery.

The economies of Italy and China do not appear to have much in common. Italy’s government would welcome a GDP growth rate of 1%, while China expands at less than 7% and investors take flight. One is a sclerotic, decaying Western country, the other is a dynamic Asian tiger. Such is the conventional wisdom.

Barclays beat a hasty retreat this week from the bulk of its investment banking operations in Asia, shuttering offices in multiple countries and slashing hundreds of jobs amid a wider global cull in costs and personnel. It did not pull any punches, with the cuts stretching across the equities, loans and bonds products. John Loh reports.

China’s Haier Group is expected to use bank loans to fund up to $3.3bn of its forthcoming $5.4bn acquisition of US-based GE Appliances. Bankers have predicted an onshore China takeout, but the fundraising structure has not yet been disclosed, reports Shruti Chaturvedi.

The Chinese Panda bond market has gone from strength to strength since its revival last September with the Province of British Columbia (BC) becoming the latest to issue, raising Rmb3bn ($456m) on Thursday. While plenty more sovereign and financial deals are being lined up, the future does not look bright for red chip companies. Carrie Hong and Rev Hui report.

Chinese property developers could face rating downgrades if the renminbi continues to fall, according to Standard & Poor’s.

Hungary may add more banks to the mandate for its potential dim sum bonds, said Andras Rez, deputy chief executive officer at the government debt management agency (AKK) in Hungary.

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange plans to cement its position as the primary gateway between China and the rest of the world, after setting out a three-year strategic plan for 2016-2018.

Postal Savings Bank of China stole the attention of the Hong Kong equity capital market this week as it kicked off preparations for a potential $15bn IPO, set to be the largest in the city in nearly five years. But fickle markets and a Hong Kong dollar stuck in a downward spiral could put the issuer on the back foot, writes Jonathan Breen.

Barclays is pulling out of the cash equities business in Asia Pacific as the bank stages a total exit from a number of countries in the region including Taiwan and Korea.

Kaisa Group Holdings has dismissed a counter proposal by a group of bondholders over the potential restructuring of the Chinese property developer’s offshore debt.