Greater China

Indian oil producer Bharat PetroResources (BPRL) and Hong Kong’s New World Development Company have announced their respective bond offerings after wrapping up roadshows on Monday.

RMB transactions may be shifting onshore but efforts still need to be made to improve the liquidity of offshore renminbi to aid the internationalisation of the currency, according to a report released by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange last week.

Four corporates from Greater China announced their respective plans to sell bonds on Monday, setting the stage for a potentially busy week of primary issuance in Asia.

Right Lane, a subsidiary of Chinese conglomerate Legend Holdings, has approached the loan market for a $350m borrowing.

Morgan Stanley and UBS are looking to bump up their stakes in their respective securities joint ventures in China to the maximum 49%, said sources from both banks.

The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) went into reverse gear on Monday, weakening the dollar fix by 0.9%, China’s foreign currency reserves cling on to the $3tr level, and Shenzhen Connect sees slow but steady foreign interest.

China’s Jilin Jiutai Rural Commercial Bank has bagged HK$3.0bn ($386.9m) after pricing its IPO near the bottom of guidance.

Chinese real estate related e-commerce firm Fang Holdings is accessing loan market liquidity to refinance debt, mandating one Taiwanese lender to helm a $120m fundraising.

It was a year of opposite fates for Panda and dim sum bonds in 2016 with the former reaching record heights and the latter pretty much left on the sidelines. In our first outlook piece of the year, GlobalRMB reached out to several experts to get their thoughts on what the future holds for both asset classes.

Taikang Insurance Group has mandated nine banks to arrange a dollar-denominated offering, with roadshow starting on January 9.

The year started with plenty of excitement, as the RMB gained ground against the dollar in onshore and offshore markets, activity surged in RMB futures in Hong Kong, and the third batch of free trade zones (FTZ) opened for business. Plus, a recap of our coverage.

A jump in the cost of dollar funds at Taiwanese banks is causing concern in the syndications market even as the overall direction of loan pricing remains firmly downward. Bankers in Taipei said the situation could ease by the end of the first quarter but until then, they face the hard choice of settling for lower returns or seeing their loan books stagnate. Shruti Chaturvedi reports.