China

Baosteel Group Corporation is planning to issue up to Rmb4bn ($644m) of exchangeable bonds, which would be the first issue of its kind in China’s public bond market.

China Merchants Bank printed its inaugural dim sum bond on Thursday night, issuing a Rmb1bn ($162m) three year issue that was more than five times subscribed.

China’s hands-on approach to IPO reform shows commitment, but if the regulator does not stop changing the goalposts, it will risk confusing and damaging the market, say commentators.

First time dim sum issuer China Merchants Bank launched a three year offering on Thursday that will be capped at Rmb1bn ($162m).

AVIC International Finance and Investment made a solid return to the dim sum market on Wednesday night with an Rmb1.5bn ($243m) three year deal.

AVIC International Finance and Investment is back in the dim sum market with a three year deal, which is due to price later on Wednesday.

With London, Frankfurt and Paris all having made progress in the past week in developing their offshore renminbi status, Luxembourg looked to have fallen behind. But Nicolas Mackel, CEO of Luxembourg for Finance, believes the city’s RMB credentials will support a leading role in the internationalisation of the currency.

China’s hands-on approach to IPO reform shows commitment to the cause, but if the regulator does not take a step back and stop changing the goalposts, it will risk confusing and damaging the market, according to commentators.

China Merchants Bank will be holding investor meetings as it considers a possible dim sum offering.

In a blow to London's ambitions, Frankfurt has become the first renminbi payment hub in Europe, with the People's Bank of China (PBoC) and the Bundesbank signing a memorandum of understanding on RMB clearing and settlement late last Friday (March 28).

Paris has joined London as the second city in Europe to be given access to the Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (RQFII) scheme. The Rmb80bn ($12.9bn) quota enhances the city’s status as an offshore renminbi hub and opens to door to RMB clearing and settlement in the French capital.

The agreement this week between the UK and Chinese central banks on renminbi clearing and settlement in London has set the market alight with antipication of the appointment of a renminbi clearing bank for the City. The frontrunners for the appointment, which UK chancellor George Osborne said would take place soon, are thought to be three of the Big Four Chinese banks.