China

China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Co (CGNPC) debuted in the dim sum bond market with a Rmb1.5bn ($240.3m) deal last week, becoming the second issuer out of four state-owned companies that were given quotas to tap the offshore investor base this year.

The fund manager has increased its dim sum holdings, tempted by renminbi appreciation and an unloved corporate sector.

Hyundai Capital Services is considering selling Samurai bonds this month to help refinance around ¥15bn ($188.4m) of yen-denominated debt that will fall due in two weeks.

Indonesian palm oil plantation company Bumitama Agri is expected by bankers to sell a Singapore dollar bond, after getting a good response to meetings at the start of this week. But a deal is by no means definite.

Top 3 Offshore RMB DCM Transactions - 2012 YTD

Four big-league Chinese banks have complained that London’s strict financial regulation limits their operational capacity. Unless this is rectified, the city can expect its renminbi business to flow elsewhere.

The increasing proportion of offshore renminbi bonds that now carry an international rating shows investors’ focus is more in credit quality and not currency appreciation, according to the rating agency.

Neptune Orient Lines returned to the Singapore dollar bond market this week, selling S$300m ($245.8m) of seven year notes — and paying no new issue concession to the secondary prices of its existing bonds.

Chinese banks have ramped up their activity as dim sum bond bookrunners with the help of their robust balance sheets. But as the market matures, banks are strengthening their networks for wider distribution.