China

Hong Kong & China Gas, the utility company better known as Towngas, made its debut in the dim sum bond market last week, selling a Rmb1bn ($152.7m) deal. The company is by far the most prominent Hong Kong corporation to sell bonds in the market, and the record-low coupon it paid for the five year issue will set a benchmark for other borrowers.

Unilever demonstrated the razor-tight pricing achievable in Hong Kong’s renminbi bond market this week, paying only 1.15% for three year money. But some bankers think the investor base is starting to mature — and that the growing supply is encouraging buyers to differentiate more than ever between credits.

Mitsubishi UFJ Lease and Finance became only the second-ever Japanese borrower to sell dim sum bonds this week, when it issued a Rmb200m ($30.5m) deal. The bond drew a strong response from investors, showing that demand for Japanese credits has not wavered despite the earthquake that struck the country three weeks ago.

UOB sold a rare bank capital deal this week, raising S$1bn ($792.3m) from a bond that will help it pay back an outstanding issue that will start to lose its regulatory capital value this year. The rarity of the deal — and the commitment of some repeat investors — helped the bank refinance at a much cheaper level than it would have paid in the dollar market, according to bankers.

British and Dutch consumer products company Unilever raised Rmb300m ($45.7m) in the Hong Kong renminbi market on Monday, generating Rmb3bn of demand despite the order book being open for less than three hours.

The Republic of the Philippines raised $1.5bn at the start of the week, finding an open slot in its heavy maturity profile and jumping to the market after investors’ concerns over Japan started to wane.

Philippine issuers will still see global peso bonds as a legitimate funding option, said a senior DCM banker — despite one of the country’s state-owned banks dropping a planned deal and turning to the dollar bond market at the end of last week.

Auto-lender Orix Corp priced a Rmb400m ($60.8m) three year bond on Tuesday, the first Hong Kong renminbi issue from a Japanese company. The deal generated more than Rmb2.3bn of orders and investors had few questions about how the company might be affected by the earthquake.