Greater China

A senior Hong Kong-based leveraged finance banker has left Bank of America Merrill Lynch, according to two sources.

Nissan’s Chinese joint venture has returned to investors with its latest auto ABS, offering a single tranche worth around Rmb2.52bn ($373.8m).

Hong Kong-listed China Agri-Products Exchange’s (CAP) rights issue to raise HK$1.3bn ($166.4m) has received "negative feedback" from the city’s bourse and could be rejected.

China Gas Holdings is aiming to raise Rmb1.5bn ($222.9m) from its latest Panda bond, returning to the market less than a year after its last deal.

Hong Kong’s market regulator has rejected AMTD Strategic Capital Group’s application to list on the city’s stock exchange, a move that sources say could be a sign of what is to come.

Asian bond investors reclaimed some of their power this week, but the coup was far from bloodless. Three single-B rated issuers were forced to pull planned dollar bonds. Morgan Davis and Addison Gong report.

The race for the fixed line assets of Hutchison Telecommunications is nearing the finish line, with details emerging on the financing to support a bid by US private equity firm I Squared Capital. The firm is competing against a joint bid from MBK Partners and TPG Capital, which can already boast one clear win in the sector. Shruti Chaturvedi reports.

The musical chairs in Hong Kong’s equity capital market hit a crescendo this week, as senior bankers from both bulge brackets and Chinese firms took turns swapping seats. With several positions still left to be filled, the movement is unlikely to stop soon. But all this points to a sustained rise in business, writes John Loh.

Weekends are when we all get a chance to let loose. Dinner parties, bleary-eyed catch-ups, long Sunday lunches with fellow old hands. But the younger generation appear to be taking a rather more sedate approach to their time off work.

JP Morgan taps insider for India ECM — Mizuho hires for debt team — ING hires ex-PSE chief for Philippines — StanChart adds to DCM syndicate team — BNY Mellon names Apac DR head

Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) has pocketed $1bn after it cashed in a chunk of its H-shares in Postal Savings Bank of China with a dual-tranche exchangeable bond, drawing in outright investors keen to build a large position in a notoriously illiquid stock.

The Panda bond market is having its best run of the year in terms of issuance volume and number of deals sealed. But a closer look at the market shows a distinct lack of long-term investors — a real risk at the heart of the Chinese financial system.