China

China’s stock markets have gone from being the darling of investors to a ticking time bomb, with nearly $3.5tr in value vaporised in less than a month. Chinese officials have unleashed a torrent of desperate measures almost every day this past week to stem losses, but with little success. Some tough lessons will now have to be learnt, writes Rashmi Kumar.

The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) is set to unveil China's first green bond regulations as early as September, after circulating a draft to the market.

Peoples Bank of China (PBoC) has begun circulating a draft of China’s first green bond regulations, with a final version expected to hit the market by the end of 2015.

The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) and the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the clearing and settlement of renminbi in South Africa, the two central banks announced on July 7. The move makes South Africa the first offshore RMB hub in Africa.

Deutsche Bank's fifth Formosa bond has firmly established it as a frequent issuer in Taiwan's RMB market, with total issuance so far of Rmb4.5bn ($733m). The bank tells GlobalRMB that it sees the market becoming a more consistent funding venue with more regular issuers in the future.

Fonterra Co-operative Group, the New Zealand-based dairy company, has debuted in Taiwan’s RMB bond market, notching up a couple of landmarks in the process.

Hengtao Securities has entered the fray for a Hong Kong IPO, just as China’s domestic stock market endures its worst correction in more than two decades and shares of newly-listed Guolian Securities Co continue to slide for a second straight day.

China has been slowly but steadily sowing the seeds of a green bond market with the first deal expected this year. However, the country is unlikely to use internationally accepted guidelines - the Green Bond Principles (GBP) - instead it may seek to tailor guidelines its own domestic standards, says HSBC.

There was renewed bemusement on bond desks in Asia on Monday after Greeks voted against bailout measures over the weekend. There were no new dollar mandates as secondary prices widened but offshore renminbi bond issuers are testing the market.

China took more drastic measures over the weekend to restore calm in its roiling stock market, including setting up a stabilisation fund and curbing new IPOs. Shares jumped as much as 8% on the news but ECM bankers say it does not go far enough to put a floor under the sell-off.

Ping An Real Estate Company has picked three banks to prepare for an offshore renminbi (CNH) market as early as next week.

Deutsche Bank is setting the benchmark for what it means to be a regular in the Formosa bond market, making its fourth visit this year.