Greater China

Chinese real estate developers China South City Holdings (CSC) and Guangzhou R&F Properties Co are wooing buy-side accounts on Monday for new dollar bond offerings.

China Minsheng Banking Corp sealed a fixed-floating combination bond on Thursday, with the help of a 19-strong syndicate.

The deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China says foreign companies will be treated on an equal basis with their Chinese peers, two foreign fund managers obtain private fund management (PFM) licences through their wholly foreign owned enterprises (WFOE), and Goldman Sachs sets up an investment fund with China’s sovereign wealth fund targetting US companies.

Hong Kong Airlines, which last visited the international syndicated loan market in 2015, is working with a bank to refinance that facility.

China Development Bank Corp priced its maiden international green bond on Thursday, raising close to $1.7bn from a dual-currency transaction that will fund Belt and Road related projects. The deal offered diversification not only to the issuer but also to investors.

Yixin Group raised its full target of HK$6.8bn ($867.2m) in a Hong Kong IPO that was overwhelmed by orders, allowing the issuer to price at the best end of terms.

Authorities in China are removing the cap on foreign ownership on a series of financial sector joint ventures (JVs), Zhu Guangyao, deputy minister at the Chinese Ministry of Finance (MoF), said on November 10. The news came on the heels of US president Donald Trump's visit to China.

Chinese property developers Yango Group Co and Jiayuan International Group both appeared to have coughed up for their bond sales on Thursday, ahead of expected heavy supply from the country in the coming weeks.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) tapped South African rand twice this week, amid rising yields in the currency. Elsewhere, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and World Bank both sold three lots of offshore renminbi, and Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) returned to Hong Kong dollars.

Chinese regulators are considering allowing mainland-based holders of Hong Kong-listed stocks to freely convert shares into H-shares, in a move that could open up swathes of liquidity in the city. Details are limited at this stage, but the decision would be a game changer for issuers and investors in Hong Kong’s equity market, market observers said this week.

Vivat on Thursday became the latest insurer to issue tier two debt with a $575m bond, which will be used to pay off debt to Anbang Insurance Group.

Chinese issuers are starting to look beyond US dollars for new fundraising opportunities, with attractive cross-currency swap rates — and the potential for diversification — making Singapore dollars and euro issuance the flavour of the month. Morgan Davis reports.