China

Zhuhai Huafa Group is preparing to make its second foray into the offshore bond market, with investor meetings expected to kick off on July 23 for a renminbi offering.

Chinese companies are really taking the euro bond market in their stride this year, with Beijing Energy Investment Holdings (BEIH) adding to the record-breaking volumes with another €300m ($326m). But unlike the euro deal from state-owned peer Beijing Infrastructure a day earlier, BEIH had to rely more on anchor orders to get its deal away.

Beijing Infrastructure Investment returned to the euro market on July 20 with a €600m ($650m) four year bond, just four months after making its debut in the currency. The quick return was a resounding success for the state-owned issuer as investors that had stayed on the sidelines for the first deal came pouring in.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Lloyds Bank sold a quartet of private medium term notes in renminbi on Monday — and more notes in the currency could follow.

Export Import Bank of Korea (Kexim) is set to make another outing to the offshore renminbi bond market this year with a new bond dual listed in Taiwan and Singapore. It looks to take advantage of cost currency swap rates between dollars and renminbi.

Beijing Energy Investment Holding (BEIH) is set to join the string of Chinese issuers who have increasingly tapped the euro bond market this year.

The unusual execution of some recent Chinese euro deals might not be everyone’s cup of tea, especially those participants who like to preach best market practices. But the doomsayers should not be so quick to condemn. What the Chinese have shown is the type of flexibility that is needed to get deals done.

China Construction Bank (CCB) Financial Leasing Corp came straight to the market after a roadshow for its debut dollar outing. Bankers on the deal hope the borrower’s strong name in a rare sector as well as decent premium attract strong demand.

Xinte Energy, a Chinese company that operates in the photovoltaic industry, is seeking a listing that could raise as much as $400m-$500m in Hong Kong, having filed a preliminary prospectus with the city’s regulator on July 20.

Nomura, has named Shengbo Tang as head of Hong Kong and China insurance and non-bank financials research.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) Singapore has completed the first onshore RMB repo transaction among foreign institutions, after the Chinese central bank gave the green light to offshore RMB clearing banks and RMB clearing correspondent banks to participate in the onshore repo market.

Bank of China’s (BoC) latest level for its cross-border RMB Index (CRI) shows that RMB usage in overseas markets reached a high in May, with the share of RMB usage in global payments standing at 2.18%, exceeding the previous record of 2.17% in December 2014.