China

Dealogic league tables of Asian local currency bond transactions, dated June 12, 2013. Including All Asian (ex Japan) currency bonds, all offshore renminbi bonds, Hong Kong dollar, Korean won, Chinese renminbi, Indian rupee, Taiwanese dollar, Indonesian rupiah, Singapore dollar, Thai baht and Malaysian ringgit.

In this roundup of offshore renminbi news, China’s Ministry of Finance announces its annual dim sum plans, The City of London sees growth in renminbi trading, and Hang Seng receives RQFII approval.

Global banks are in discussions with onshore Chinese lenders in anticipation of a regulation change that will allow the latter to issue Basel-III compliant capital in the dim sum and US dollar markets.

The renminbi is starting to weaken against the US dollar, opening the window for greater foreign exchange reform and allowing more two-way volatility, according to HSBC.

China’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) will sell Rmb23 billion of dim sum bonds in 2013 via two batches for the first time, marking what may be a turning point in Beijing’s dim sum strategy.

United Overseas Bank has priced a Rmb500m ($81m) three year deal at 2.5%, joining HSBC, Standard Chartered and DBS in issuing offshore renminbi bonds listed in Singapore.

Tighter valuations and low potential for renminbi appreciation in near term means now is a good time to take some profit in the dim sum market, according to UBS Wealth Management.