Greater China

China’s Bank of Communications Financial Leasing Co managed to raise the upper end of its $1.5bn target size at a tighter-than-expected level on Tuesday, a feat achieved despite a busy bond market in Asia.

Hong Kong-listed Sun Hung Kai Properties is talking to banks for its annual return to the loan market. The company has raised its funding cost for the first time in five years.

The US government shutdown hit 24 days on Monday, a record kerfuffle for the country. As primary equity markets teams, most importantly at the Securities and Exchange Commission, run on skeleton crews, the IPO pipeline could come under some threat.

Mainland firm Shanghai Gench Education Group is planning to list in Hong Kong and has submitted its draft prospectus to the stock exchange.

Future Land Development Holdings got a head start on other high yield issuers gearing up to hit the bond market this week, raising $300m on Monday at a level that was 37.5bp inside initial guidance.

Chinese oil major Sinopec has received approval from the country’s regulator to list its retail business in Hong Kong, according to a source close to the situation.

China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange expanded the total available quota for the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) scheme, one of the country’s longest-standing capital markets access programmes. The move came before the upcoming further inclusions of Chinese securities in global investment indices.

Sub-one year dollar bonds from Chinese issuers are back, but this time they are being used strategically to get reasonable pricing during tough times. Rather than condemn this tenor, it is time to view these notes for what they are — practical and providing flexibility.

Barclays has appointed Vanessa Koo as head of banking for Asia Pacific and Lars Aagaard as head of mergers and acquisitions for the region.

ASM Pacific Technology is tapping the offshore loan market for the first time, raising a HK$2.25bn ($287m) five year borrowing to refinance a convertible bond maturing in March.

IPOs worldwide have been derailed by geopolitical developments — except, it seems, in Hong Kong. Clawback columnist Philippe Espinasse investigates.

China’s Dalian Wanda Group has filed for a US IPO of up to $500m for its sports business, according to a source close to the deal.