Greater China

Cultured, guitar-playing capital markets banker who was widely seen as the best SSA originator in the business died on December 26. He was 48 and had been suffering from cancer.

Ireland is looking at the possibility of issuing its first ever benchmark inflation linked bond in 2019, amid an expected surge in the euro public sector linker market this year. Meanwhile, Portugal is waiting for the final approval of its inaugural Panda bond, which will be sold as part of an Rmb6bn three year programme.

Research by a US thinktank shows that the World Bank will have to carry out major reform of its lending to China to meet US-driven goals to focus loans on projects with benefits outside wealthy provinces. By Phil Thornton

Catching up with friends on the latest gossip is always good fun — but only if you are meeting at a respectable place.

Hong Kong’s Dah Sing Bank priced a popular $225m Basel III-compliant tier two deal this week, kicking off what is set to be a critical year for Asia’s bank capital market. Addison Gong reports.

A jump in foreign holdings of Chinese government bonds (CGBs), combined with the upcoming inclusion of CGBs in global indices in April, is set to improve liquidity in the mainland’s secondary debt market and gradually widen the scope of international investor participation, writes Rebecca Feng.

China’s Road King Infrastructure nabbed $400m from a bond that was priced 50bp inside of initial guidance, on the back of the largest order book for an Asian deal recently.

CK Infrastructure Holdings has corralled HK$2.32bn ($295.7m) after offloading some of its shares in Power Assets Holdings, according to a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

China YuHua Education Corp has bagged HK$940m ($119.9m) from a sub-one year convertible bond, bumping up the deal size on the back of strong hedge fund demand.

Anta Sports Products has launched its €2.2bn loan to back the acquisition of Amer Sports Oyj into general syndication, with HSBC joining the bookrunning group.

Railway and toll road constructor Shandong Hi-Speed Group became the latest issuer to opt for a short tenor for its bond this week, in a bid to speed up the issuance process while keeping the yield low.

China YuHua Education Corp has launched bookbuilding for a sub-one year convertible bond that could raise up to HK$800m ($102.1m).