China

KfW has become the first issuer to sell Frankfurt-listed renminbi bonds, printing a two year deal on Tuesday in what was seen as the latest step in the city's bid to become Europe’s main centre for renminbi business, with bankers now expecting other issuers to follow KfW’s lead.

China Power International Development returned to the dim sum market on Tuesday with a Rmb2bn ($324m) three year issue. It is the company’s first offshore renminbi transaction since it debuted with an Rmb800m five year bond in 2010.

While London already offers a full range of renminbi services to corporates in the UK and beyond, the focus must now be in increasing the volume of business, according to Mark Boleat, policy chairman at the City of London.

Baosteel Group Corporation will start a series of investor meetings in the coming weeks for what will be China’s first exchangeable bond. While the roadshows will mainly be held in China, the deal — which could be worth as much as Rmb4bn ($644m) — is also being lined up for offshore investors.

Taiwan is hoping to give its renminbi bond market a boost in the second half of year by allowing high-net-worth and qualified retail investors to buy the so-called Formosa bonds. The move, which could happen as early as May, will provide a much needed outlet for the rising volume of the RMB deposits.

Baosteel Group Corporation will start to a series of investors meeting in the next few weeks for what will be the first exchangeable in China’s bond market. While the roadshows will mainly be held in China, the deal - which could be as much as Rmb4bn ($644m) - is also targeting offshore investors, according to a banker close to the deal.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China priced a Rmb2.5bn ($405m) dual tranche bond on Tuesday night, with investors showing a strong preference for the two year tranche over the five year.

Foreign investors are expected to become more active in the Formosa bond market following the formation of a direct settlement link between Taiwan’s Central Securities Depository (TDCC) and Clearstream. The move follows a move follows TDCC ‘s partnership between with Euroclear and Citibank earlier this month to give international investors direct access to Formosa bonds via their existing clearing accounts.

Dim sum issuance looks to be ramping up again after the Crimea crisis and noises around defaults in China led to the market drying up towards the end of March. ICBC and Guosen Securities both announced new bonds this morning.

The newly approved Shanghai-Hong Kong mutual stock programme will use renminbi as the settlement currency for the two-way transactions, Zhang Xiaojun, the news spokesman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said last Friday.

This week's approval of mutual stock market access between the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange is being welcomed by market participants as a big step in the internationalisation of the renminbi, promoting more cross-border use of the currency.

China Unicom (Hong Kong) opened up a new sector to the dim sum market on Thursday, pricing its debut offshore renminbi deal and becoming the first Chinese telecom company to tap the asset class. The Rmb4bn ($643m) three year deal gathered a huge book of more than double the final size, with pricing coming late in the evening after guidance was tightened by 25bp.