China

China Construction Bank Sydney branch opened the books for a debut dim sum bond on Monday. The transaction follows an Rmb2bn ($325m) bond from Bank of China Sydney branch last month and inaugural CNH listings in the eurozone by Chinese issuers last week, moving the renminbi’s internationalisation another step forward.

It has been a two momentous weeks for the offshore renminbi market. There has been a torrent of deals, Frankfurt and Luxembourg have seen their debut RMB bond issues, and standby letters of credit (SBLCs) have been used for the first time in the asset class. Coming after another busy period in policymaking, when Paris gained an RQFII quota, and London and Frankfurt signed payments agreements with China, the momentum looks unstoppable.

Rizhao Port launched the second standby letter of credit backed dim sum bond on May 8 but competing supply on the day meant that the bond priced wider than expected. Due to a limited issuing window, the borrower was forced to come to market in less than ideal conditions.

The renminbi’s global footprint deepened on Thursday when Bank of China Luxembourg and Agricultural Bank of China Hong Kong printed the first CNH notes from a Chinese borrower to be listed in the eurozone.

The e-commerce arm of China Minsheng Bank is raising money from the offshore renminbi market, launching into syndication an Rmb800m ($130m) one year facility.

Sinochem saw strong demand for its sophomore CNH issue despite strong competition in the market. The Chinese state owned conglomerate’s investment grade rating proved an attractive feature for investors and the issuer was able to raise Rmb2.5bn ($406m) with its second deal in less than two weeks.

Dim sum issuance volumes are on the rise, with four issuers launching deals and another wrapping up a roadshow on Thursday.

A two week silence in the dim sum market at the end of April was broken as a raft of issuers hit the screens this week. With new issues already at $6.8bn in 2014, CNH volumes are well on track for a record year. But the market is unlikely to see much diversification in issuers and deal structures, writes Isabella Zhong.

Export-Import Bank of China (Chexim) stood out from competing supply on Wednesday when it priced a rare three tranche offshore renminbi bond. Dealers said that the recent high volumes of dim sum issuance had not affected pricing.

Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina) announced guidance on its debut CNH bond this morning as the dim sum markets continue to ramp up after a quieter period in April.

Rizhao Port HK has opened guidance on its debut offshore renminbi bond which is backed by a standby letter of credit (SBLC).

Bank of China on Thursday morning announced initial price guidance for its new offshore renminbi bond, which is being issued through its Luxembourg branch and is set to be the first eurozone-listed CNH bond from China.