China

Tsinghua Unigroup had the Asia bond market to itself on December 3 when it made its dollar debut ahead of the European Central Bank’s stimulus package announcement. The lack of competition, combined with Tsinghua’s credit strength, resulted in a popular $800m trade that was close to four times subscribed.

Asia’s debt capital market is set to end the year on a bumper note, with China Construction Bank (CCB) poised to launch a dollar-denominated additional tier one trade next week.

A bank meeting for lenders interested in a $130m leveraged buyout loan for LVMH’s Asian investment arm has been postponed, according to sources.

In this round-up, Hong Kong sees sharp drop in RMB trade settlement in October, PBoC appoints Swiss RMB clearing bank, ICBC Singapore completes first CNH bond repo, CSRC looking at London Stock Connect feasibility, Macau set to introduce RMB clearing system, StanChart joins OTC Clear in Hong Kong. Plus, a recap of our top stories this week.

The Asian investment arm of French luxury firm LVMH is in the market for a $130m leveraged buyout loan. This is one of the region's few deals to test appetite for credits where the underlying target is in the fashion industry. Shruti Chaturvedi reports.

Asia’s debt capital markets show no sign of slowing down as the year end approaches, with recent deals proving that investors still have plenty of cash to deploy. Market participants expect at least one more high-profile deal to close in what is poised to be a record December, writes Rev Hui.

BoC Aviation has increased its latest borrowing to $500m after banks from across Asia poured into the transaction.

The IMF has approved the renminbi as the fifth currency in its Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket of currencies with a weighting of 10.92%. The new SDR will come into effect on October 1, 2016.

Credit Suisse has shaken up its top ranks in Asia Pacific, with changes to its equity capital markets, investment banking and private banking units.

The Province of British Columbia (BC) has mandated Bank of China and HSBC as joint leads for its debut Panda bond, Mike de Jong, BC’s Minister of Finance, told GlobalRMB. The deal is expected to launch in January and will be the first Panda from a sovereign credit.

Moody’s launched a public consultation this week as it seeks feedback over its proposed rating methodology for Chinese residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS).

The Province of British Columbia (BC) has mandated Bank of China and HSBC as joint leads for its debut Panda bond, Michael de Jong, BC’s Minister of Finance, told GlobalRMB. The deal is expected to launch in January and will be the first Panda from a sovereign credit.