China

As the world's largest consumer of commodities, China is trying hard to make the RMB a bigger player in those markets. But while the long term strategy makes plenty of sense, its short term implementation faces a number of headwinds, despite the Hong Kong Exchange Group’s (HKEx) best intentions.

UBS is planning to swap senior members of its China onshore and offshore teams as it looks to further strengthen its mainland business, according to an internal memo seen by GlobalCapital Asia.

Yanzhou Coal Mining (Yancoal) has announced plans to buy back a portion of its existing bonds following a pair of downgrades due to a weaker credit profile and declining thermal coal prices.

Asia’s debt market saw a busy Tuesday with a trio of issuers, SP PowerAssets, Stats ChipPac and TUS Holdings, venturing out for dollars.

Zhuhai Huafa Group (Zhuhai Huafa), a company closely involved with urban planning and development, is set to return to the dim sum bond market with a three year offering in the near future, GlobalRMB has learned.

Commentary around the one year anniversary of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect seems pretty unanimous in suggesting the scheme has failed to achieve its goals. However, if one looks at past Chinese experiments in capital account liberalisation, the Stock Connect’s early performance should neither surprise nor disappoint.

Bank of Jinzhou Co commenced investor education on Tuesday for its $600m IPO in Hong Kong, having appointed five banks as joint global co-ordinators.

Chinese company Yirendai, an online consumer finance marketplace, is eyeing the New York Stock Exchange for a $100m IPO and has a filed a preliminary prospectus for the listing.

China's Ministry of Finance (MoF) is set to auction the second batch of CNH government bonds this year in Hong Kong on November 23. Although it seems the renminbi has secured its inclusion in the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket, market participants doubt this will give an immediate boost to the CNH market.

Citic Envirotech has set up a subordinated securities issuance programme in multiple currencies, while Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) is eyeing an offshore bond return.

The RMB passed through another goalpost on its path to inclusion in the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights (SDR) facility on Friday, with the IMF staff saying that the currency meets all the criteria to join the basket. The fund's executive board will make the final call on the issue when it meets on November 30.

China Huarong Asset Management navigated a crowded Asian dollar bond market with a chunky $1.8bn deal on November 12. The trade was a replica of a highly successful transaction it executed at the start of the year.