China

The offshore renminbi bond market has clearly captured the imagination of investors: volumes are constantly rising, and more and more funds are being set up to profit from the excitement surrounding the market. But not all investors are bullish about dim sum bonds, even those running renminbi-dedicated funds. Hayden Briscoe, the manager of a newly-created AllianceBernstein fund, told EuroWeek Asia that he plans to allocate only a small portion of his CNH-focused fund to the bond market.

FIG issuers continue to capitalise on low domestic supply in the Yen market, with Lloyds pricing a Samurai on Friday and Bank of America mandating for a trade.

South Korean food company Cheil Jedang Corp is planning to make its debut in the offshore renminbi bond market, and has given BNP Paribas its first sole mandate in the fast-growing market.

Singaporean shipping company Neptune Orient Lines raised S$300m ($243.7m) in its domestic bond market this week, returning to investors with the same 10 year non-call five structure that it used to raise money last year.

China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corp (Cofco) made its debut in the dim sum bond market last week, raising Rmb3bn ($462m) after struggling to strike a balance between price and size.

Hong Kong’s offshore renminbi bond market is growing at a rapid pace and several issuers have rushed to tap the market over the last few weeks. They could now get the benefit of a useful pricing benchmark: the Chinese government is considering returning to the market.

Far East Horizon, the financial leasing unit of Sinochem Group, proved there is strong demand available even for some unrated credits in the dim sum bond market, when it sold a Rmb1.25bn ($192.5m) three year bond last week.

Morgan Stanley made its dim sum bond market debut last week, becoming the first US bank to test the growing investor base when it sold a Rmb500m ($77m) issue. It plans to keep the money outside of mainland China.

Frozen seafood company Pacific Andes International Holdings raised Rmb600m ($92.4m) last week, selling its debut offshore renminbi bond four months after it scrapped a previous attempt.