China

Chinese internet hosting company 21Vianet printed its second offshore renminbi issue on Wednesday, a Rmb2bn ($324.4m) three year bond. The unrated borrower appeared in the market after having launched a tender offer for its outstanding 2016s — and was able to shave 100bp off the coupon it had paid on that deal.

The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) confirmed on Thursday that Bank of China (BoC) will be the official clearing bank for RMB business in Germany’s financial centre, Frankfurt.

A frantic period of activity in London's renminbi-related business culminated on Wednesday with the long-awaited confirmation by the People's Bank of China (PBoC) that China Construction Bank (CCB) would be the official RMB clearing bank in the city.

London's future as a renminbi business centre will be firmly rooted in its traditional strengths of FX and risk management, to judge by the data released by the City of London Corporation's annual survey of RMB activity on Tuesday. RMB deposit growth was lacklustre, at 23%, and while retail corporate and interbank deposits were all up, a third consecutive fall in private banking deposits means that overall volumes are still below 2011. FX activity, however, told a different tale, with sharp increases.

Hong Kong’s eSun Holdings printed its inaugural offshore renminbi bond on Tuesday with an unrated Rmb650m ($105m) four year issue that marked the first high yield trade in the CNH market this month.

The Singapore branch of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has brought the first cross-border renminbi loan for a firm in the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP), a China-Singapore joint venture area in Suzhou. The deal comes just after the People's Bank of China (PBoC) opened the door to such deals to promote RMB internationalisation.

Singapore's United Overseas Bank (UOB) has become the latest bank to announce a sub-branch in Shanghai's Free Trade Zone (FTZ), with the CEO of the new operation telling GlobalRMB he is hopeful that reform will continue apace.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) became the first issuer of any kind to sell green debt in the offshore RMB market on Tuesday, when it priced a three year London-listed bond through HSBC. More supply could soon follow, as other borrowers are already in discussions about printing in the format.

Hong Kong’s eSun Holdings opened the books for its debut offshore renminbi issue – an unrated four year bond – on Tuesday. eSun is only the second high yield Chinese borrower to appear in the CNH market in two months.

Bank of Communications Hong Kong branch (BOCOM HK) priced a three tranche Taiwan-listed renminbi-denominated bond on Monday, raising a total of Rmb2bn ($325m) across three, five and seven year tenors. The deal is only the third Formosa bond to total Rmb2bn, and the first to be priced this year since Export-Import Bank of Korea (Kexim) raised Rmb1bn exactly five months earlier.

Beijing Capital Co priced its inaugural bond in international markets on Friday issuing a three year offshore renminbi bond.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is setting up a facility to provide overnight renminbi liquidity to financial institutions in Singapore, to be launched on 1 July. Meanwhile, the Nanjing branch of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has released a set of interim procedures to allow eligible corporates and individuals in the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) to conduct cross-border RMB transactions with Singapore.