China

China’s Wanhua Chemical successfully completed its first foray into the offshore debt market on November 12, pricing a three year dim sum bond.

Monday November 17 is looking set to be a busy day for Hong Kong's RMB business. Not only is it the official launch date for the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect (SHKSC) and the first possible date for the next auction of Chinese government dim sum bonds in Hong Kong, but now it will also mark the first opportunity for residents of the SAR to convert funds into renminbi with no daily limit.

China’s Bohai Steel Group and Universal International Leasing made it a busy day for the CNH market on November 11 as reverse enquiry from investors led the issuers to tap their existing bonds for a combined Rmb1.1bn ($179m).

China High Speed Transmission Equipment Group, the nation’s largest manufacturer of wind power transmission gearboxes, had already more than enough orders for its maiden offshore renminbi bond by late afternoon Wednesday.

One of the world’s largest plastics manufacturer, Wanhua Chemical, started taking orders for a CNH bond offering on November 12 as it looks to issue in the international debt market for the first time.

China Construction Bank (Asia) has priced the biggest ever Formosa bond, selling Rmb3.3bn ($540m) on November 11 through four tranches in what was its debut in this market. The two, five, seven and ten year bonds will be listed in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Luxembourg.

China Singyes Solar Technologies Holdings plans to kick off a series of investor meetings as it seeks buyers for its maiden offshore RMB-denominated notes.

Malaysia is on its way to becoming the second ASEAN country to be designated as an offshore renminbi hub. The People's Bank of China (PBoC) and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on RMB clearing arrangements in Malaysia on November 10. Singapore became the first RMB hub in the region in February 2013.

KGI Securities and Yuanta Securities, two Taiwan local securities firms, will formally issue their debut Formosa bonds on November 11 and November 18, respectively, several bankers working on the deals have told GlobalRMB. The two deals will mark the first two renminbi-denominated bonds from securities houses in Taiwan.

The long-delayed HK-Shanghai Stock Connect will finally get off the ground next week, with trading set to begin on Nov 17, opening the floodgates into China’s $3.9tr A-share market.

Fresh from designating the first offshore renminbi hub in the Middle East on November 4, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) announced just a few days later a currency swap agreement with Canada and the appointment of an RMB clearing bank for the country.

Bank of China (BoC) Taiwan Branch, the official renminbi clearing bank for Taiwan, has been approved to participate in China’s interbank lending market and has agreed to help Taiwan banks’ mainland China branches and subsidiaries with interbank RMB funding, the central bank of Taiwan said this week.