Greater China

The Hong Kong Exchange traversed a difficult financial year, marked on the one hand by sagging trading on the Stock Connect, and on the other a surge in RMB FX derivatives activity. For 2017, HKEX’s chief executive Charles Li said more RMB products are in store.

Hong Kong’s stock exchange and Saudi Arabian energy company Saudi Aramco are potentially a match made in heaven, according to the bourse's chief executive officer Charles Li.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) touted its reform credentials last weekend, saying that IPO approvals will continue as stability returns to the market. But the regulator should not overplay the effect of short-term fixes. China’s equity market is still waiting for the true test of market-based reform.

China Development Bank became the latest name to take advantage of a liquidity-abundant market, snapping up $3bn-equivalent from three floating rate tranches in two currencies — in one of the largest FRN trades out of Asia.

Shimao Property Holdings is diversifying its Panda bond funding channels into the interbank bond market, having filed for a Rmb8bn ($1.17bn) programme with the National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors.

Three issuers from the aircraft industry, Grand China Air Co, China Aircraft Leasing Group Holdings and Hong Kong Express Airways, hit the runway for their respective dollar offerings on Tuesday morning.

Officials at the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said on Sunday that they will continue approving IPOs at a faster clip as stability returns to the market.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (Safe) has followed up on a promise made at the end of last year, announcing on Monday that foreign institutional investors are now allowed to enter the onshore FX derivatives market.

The company behind Chinese social media platform kktv5.com, Hangzhou Mi Lu Technology Co, is vying for a Hong Kong listing as soon as this year, according to a banker that pitched for the IPO.

Issuers from Greater China are set to storm the debt market soon with China Reinsurance Finance Corp, China Cinda Asset Management Co, Grand China Air Co and Pacific Century Premium Developments eyeing dollar offerings. Separately, New China Life Insurance Company has got the green light from its board to raise funds offshore.

Swift’s decision not to publish its monthly RMB tracker with any additional commentary about the long term prospects of the renminbi is refreshing. Other renminbi loyalists should follow suit, and stop trying to gloss over disappointing data.

China’s Minsheng Education Group has launched pre-deal investor education for its Hong Kong IPO that could raise up to $200m, according to bankers close to the deal.