China

The state’s financial regulator is seeking agreements with four Southeast Asian nations to bolster its banks’ investment reach – and potentially their renminbi businesses.

China has bestowed a number of great renminbi gifts on the island state, but it could end up squandering them unless its regulators do more to encourage the dim sum market.

The Thai bank says it is considering selling offshore renminbi bonds as it seeks economical ways to help fund its branch expansions in China.

Top 3 Offshore RMB DCM Transactions - 2012 YTD

The City of London initiative, which spearheads the financial centre’s drive to become a centre for renminbi, is planning to add three banks to its steering committee.

Debt capital market chiefs call for clearer regulations to boost the dim sum market, but are less concerned about stagnant deposit figures.

China seems to have found a solution to its money market’s liquidity shortage. Yet the country needs more than just short-term strategies – what it needs are cuts to banks’ reserve requirement ratios.

Despite taking major steps to promote itself as a renminbi hub, Taiwan’s onshore withholding tax is likely to hamper the island’s ambition to grow its dim sum bond market – to the benefit of Hong Kong.

Chinese textile and garments supplier Pointer Investment (Hong Kong) raised Rmb400m ($63.6m) from its first foray into the dim sum market last week.