Greater China

BRICS countries agree to establish a local currency fund at the summit in Xiamen, China’s FX reserves grew by 0.4% in August, and Standard Chartered adds foreign holdings of onshore assets as a metric to its Renminbi Globalisation Index (RGI).

Two top executives of China Medical System Holdings raised HK$1.2bn ($156.4m) from an overnight bookbuild on Thursday, opting for size over price.

Having sealed the largest deal in its Driver China series in May, Volkswagen Finance (China) decided it wanted to raise more from China’s securitization market. The originator stuck to a similar deal structure on September 7, taking home Rmb3.66bn ($569.7m).

The Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) said it is working with Hong Kong’s stock exchange to launch Green Bond Connect, an initiative to help Bond Connect investors identify Chinese bonds that meet international green standards. But market participants are divided on whether such an initiative is necessary. Noah Sin reports.

Asian equity capital markets jolted back into life this week, with a handful of overnight blocks signalling the end of the summer lull during the constant furore on the Korean peninsula. Despite the uncertainty, bankers predict equity markets will absorb the noise and battle through. Jonathan Breen reports.

JD.com has hired five banks to arrange its $500m debut in the international loan market, making it the latest borrower from China’s red-hot technology sector on the prowl for funds.

China Aoyuan Property Group took advantage of an improvement in its credit metrics and a recent ratings upgrade to return to the debt market for the second time this year, netting its targeted $250m in the process.

China Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec) sealed its second benchmark transaction of the year, a four tranche $3.25bn deal, just five months after the state-owned company took home $3.4bn from a similar transaction.

Hutchison Port Holdings Trust (HPHT) sailed away with $500m on the back of a $3bn order book on Wednesday, proving yet again its strong credentials and reputation in the debt market.

Lai Sun Development Company beat competition on Wednesday to nab $400m from a bond, managing to price inside the levels achieved by other unrated Hong Kong names recently.

Chinese logistics firm Best hit the road on Thursday to start drumming up demand for its $931.5m IPO of American depositary shares (ADS).

Chailease International Finance Corp has sealed a $250m term loan after obtaining more funds than initially planned, in its second outing to the market this year.