Greater China

It is not always easy for bankers to keep up with the minutiae of their latest bonds. But one would hope they might at least know the size of these deals. Unfortunately, that is not always the case in China’s debt market.

Chinese property developer Country Garden Holdings was forced to pull a Rmb1.8bn ($281.2m) three year Panda bond this week after investors demanded a better return amid rising volatility, writes Noah Sin.

Bonds backed by standby letters of credit have fallen from grace, as tightening spreads in the dollar bond market and growing risk appetite among investors ensure that issuers can do without credit enhancement. Have SBLCs had their day in Asia? Addison Gong finds out.

Morgan Stanley was sole bookrunner on two overnight sell-downs in Asia this week. One transaction was for its Taiwanese private equity arm in shares of CTBC Financial Holdings.

China Shipbuilding Industry Corp (CSIC) bagged $1bn on Wednesday from an exchangeable bond linked to Postal Savings Bank of China’s stock, which has rallied this year. But the deal was more than just an opportunistic trade — it used a relatively rare structure in the equity-linked market, writes Jonathan Breen.

Hong Kong’s stock market is in the grip of another euphoria-driven rally, with the Hang Seng Index smashing record after record this week. As Chinese investors pile into equities, parallels are being drawn to 2015, when a similar China-led bubble ended in tears. But this time is different, say market watchers. John Loh reports.

Chinese state-owned Beijing Capital Group used a tried-and-tested approach for its bond return, replicating the structure of its debut deal a year ago. But its trade impressed nevertheless, priced with a negative new issue concession.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has agreed to strengthen financial markets cooperation with Switzerland's finance ministry, an effort that will encompass pushing forward China's RMB internationalisation agenda.

China Resources Land is coming back to the Panda market with a Rmb6bn ($941.6m) three year deal.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Akram Zaman is returning to the US after a three year stint in Asia to head the equity syndicate desk in New York, according to sources.

UBS has made senior level changes to its Asia Pacific M&A and natural resources teams in a bid to boost its market position and client coverage.

Guotai Junan International raked in HK$1.99bn ($255.2m) from an H-share placement on Wednesday, its first tap of the equity capital markets in over three years.