China

The appointment of an official renminbi clearing bank for South Korea in July has sparked a surge of activity. Renminbi deposits have risen in the two months since then, and stood at Rmb122.6bn ($20bn) at the end of August, accounting for nearly 30% of the country's foreign currency deposits. And according to Peter Kim, head of global markets Korea at HSBC, geographical and economic proximity makes South Korea a natural RMB hub.

China Construction Bank Sydney branch priced its first syndicated dim sum bond on Monday, September 22. The borrower printed Rmb1.3bn ($211.4m) for the three year notes.

China’s Datang Telecom Technology sold its inaugural international bond on Monday, September 22. Although forces of nature delayed the launch of the unrated three year offshore renminbi issue, the deal ultimately drew a very warm response from investors.

Corporates are increasingly feeling the appeal of the Chinese currency, but a lack of regulatory clarity and the need for technological investment has been a deterrent to widespread adoption. But in a new report, Deutsche Bank argues that the time to act is now.

China’s Datang Telecom Technology & Industry has brought to market its debut international bond in the shape of a three year dim sum. Books were seen at Rmb2bn ($325m) on Monday afternoon.

Coal distributor Earth Energy is looking to become the first Thai borrower to issuer an offshore renminbi bond and will be meeting investors in Asia this week for a proposed Reg S deal.

In this round-up, Sri Lanka signs a Rmb10bn currency swap line with China, Taiwan deposits inch up 0.7% to Rmb295.24bn, and the Chinese authorities officially launch the international gold trading board in the Shanghai FTZ.

US investment manager Invesco has applied for an Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (RQFII) licence, and believes the opportunities in onshore and offshore RMB bond markets are too big to be missed.

BNP Paribas Investment Partners (BNPP IP), the asset management arm of BNP Paribas, was granted an RMB Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (RQFII) licence on September 15 by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), making it one of the first companies in the Eurozone to obtain direct access to China's onshore assets. Now the company is hoping to launch its debut product before the end of the year, Asia Pacific CEO Vincent Camerlynck told GlobalRMB.

The launch of RMB clearing services by Bank of China Paris branch (BoC Paris), which was appointed as the official RMB clearing bank on September 15, is still likely to be accompanied by the creation of the RMB clearing house structure, says promotional body Paris Europlace.

International Finance Corp became the largest issuer of London-listed renminbi bonds this week, as it priced its second benchmark in the currency this year. The deal came after the UK government announced plans to issue a debut renminbi bond.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) priced its Singapore and Taiwan dual listed offshore renminbi bond on Monday, September 15, with Taiwan investors in particular flocking to the deal.