China

In this round-up, Hong Kong RMB deposits and cross-border RMB trade settlement recover slightly in May, Bank of Korea activates a RMB liquidity facility to support markets, Mizuho Bank launches free trade accounts in Shanghai's FTZ, and the FTZ authority ventures overseas with six new offices.

China has taken a welcome but quirky approach to its first publicly-traded real estate investment trust (Reit), as a decade-long effort to bring the structure to the mainland bears fruit.

Taiwanese leasing company, Chailease International Finance Corp, raised Rmb1.8bn ($296m) on June 26 through an offshore renminbi-denominated syndicated loan arranged by ANZ.

The mutual recognition of funds (MRF) scheme opens today for application by Mainland and Hong Kong-based fund managers. Foreign asset managers with mainland joint ventures are likely to enjoy early success, though analysts expect the programme to achieve wide popularity.

News that BlackRock will start using the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect (SHSC) shows the trading link is beginning to appeal a wider range of investors as the early technical issues get resolved. This increasing popularity is even holding up in the face A-share volatility with turnover on the northbound channel on the rise.

It's been a good week for Europe's renminbi ambitions with the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (Safe) extending a Rmb50bn RMB qualified foreign institutional investor (RQFII) quota to Hungary, while China Construction Bank (CCB) listed its RQFII ETF on Paris’ Euronext.

The Tokyo Pro-Bond market has welcomed its first offshore renminbi offering, with Mizuho Bank printing an Rmb250m ($41.1m) trade.

Euroclear Bank, the Brussels-based international central securities depository (ICSD), and China Construction Bank (CCB) on June 29 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to further develop the offshore renminbi capital market. The signing was attended by China’s premier Li Keqiang.

The Budapest branch of Bank of China was appointed by People's Bank of China as the official RMB clearing bank in the country on June 27, PBoC said in a statement.

China ABS has been developing at a fast pace since the government reopened the market in 2012. With foreign investors buying auto loan ABS from international car manufacturers, bankers wonder if they could issue offshore renminbi ABS to attract an even broader investor base.

Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA’s plans to raise Chinese yuan-denominated bonds show that the beleaguered nation is unable to raise financing from its traditional markets, said investors.

The latest survey on RMB business in London showed that in 2014 the FX trading more than doubled in size, with daily volumes of $61.5bn, while other areas, including trade finance and RMB deposits stabilised on the 2013 levels.