Greater China

China New Higher Education Group is set to launch the roadshow for its $150m Hong Kong IPO on April 3, according to a source close to the deal.

Renminbi’s share of international payments rises slightly in February, Liaoning free trade zone (FTZ) allows foreign investors to build renminbi pool, and the Chinese president Xi Jinping to meet with his US counterpart for the first time. Plus a recap of this week’s coverage.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) could soon be home to the A-shares of foreign companies. A decade old initiative to bring firms based in Shanghai’s Free Trade Zone (FTZ) into the A-share market has resurfaced and the first foreign stock could be up for grabs on the SSE within a year, writes Jonathan Breen.

The first quarter loan syndication numbers for Asia ex-Japan are out and they are not pretty, with volumes plummeting 50% year-on-year. But with some big M&A deals in the works, bankers are bullish about the second quarter and expectations are rising for more activity from China and India.

Asia ex-Japan G3 DCM volume reached a new high in the first quarter, with high yield names staging a resurgence. Chinese borrowers dominated the market, but given their deal timing is being tightly regulated, high yield credits from the rest of Asia are jumping into action, buoying sentiment for the next quarter. Addison Gong reports.

Tightening bank budgets may mean cutting back on business trips, but sometimes making those trips is the only way to get the full picture.

ICBC Financial Leasing Co brought home $2bn from its latest dual tranche deal on Wednesday, hitting its regulatory cap and meeting its pricing goals.

Kunming Dianchi Water Treatment Co has raised HK$1.3bn ($167.3m) after avoiding an aggressive stance on its IPO and pricing at the bottom of guidance instead.

China Boqi Environmental Co began testing investor appetite this week for its upcoming Hong Kong IPO, which could raise $100m, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Renminbi internationalisation is back on the table after People’s Bank of China (PBoC) signalled actions to increase the currency’s offshore usage in 2017. But the process will be slow, experts warn, given the upcoming 19th Party Congress and demand to limit capital outflows.

Mimi Cheng, chief representative of First Gulf Bank in Hong Kong, has left the firm less than a year after taking over the position.

Issuers from Greater China are dominating the dollar debt market, as they vie for investor attention on Thursday alongside a couple of south and southeast Asian names.