Greater China

Hong Kong-based AMTD has found its way into the league table for Asia’s top 50 DCM bookrunners just one year after kicking off its capital markets and advisory business. For Calvin Choi, chairman, this is only the beginning. In an interview with Asiamoney’s Rashmi Kumar, Choi shares his plans for the firm including international expansion and a potential listing.

Faced with a low margin environment and intense competition at home, Taiwanese banks have been looking outward for growth. But as they diversify away from China due to regulatory and political pressure, lenders from the island nation face new challenges on due diligence. Shruti Chaturvedi reports.

Citi is boosting links between its private bank, and corporate and investment bank, naming Kevin Lam as Asia Pacific business development head between the two divisions.

From China’s circuit breaker mayhem to a shock Brexit result and victory for Donald Trump, volatility was not on short supply this year. But after months of ducking for cover, equity bankers are emerging, if tentatively, from under their desks. For equity capital markets, the outlook on China is brightening, writes John Loh.

Chinese local government financing vehicles (LGFVs) have been one of the key drivers of bond volumes this year as they hit the international market in large numbers. The increasing supply means there is more scrutiny of the underlying risk but the sector looks set for another bumper year in 2017. Addison Gong reports.

BlackRock has been awarded the first Renminbi Qualified Institutional Investor (RQFII) licence in the US this week providing further momentum to America's push in RMB internationalisation.

Shandong Ruyi Technology Group issued its debut international bond on Tuesday, continuing the trickle of year end issuance from China ahead of the expiration of regulatory approvals.

Bank of Communications Financial Leasing opened a new source of funding on Monday with a $300m securitization of loans backed by aircraft assets. Not only was this one of the few internationally marketed structured finance transactions out of Asia, it also marked the return of a rare credit support structure last seen publicly in 2014.

LR Capital Group made its international bond debut on Tuesday with a $150m deal. The transaction was announced with sufficient anchor orders, thanks to an extensive marketing effort by the leads.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, the state-owned oil refiner known as Sinopec, is revisiting plans for a Hong Kong IPO of its retail marketing unit, said bankers close to the matter.

Russia is planning to launch its first renminbi denominated bond on the Moscow Exchange in early 2017.

The renminbi qualified foreign institutional investor (RQFII) scheme is set to end 2016 on a disappointing note with the combined value of quotas awarded amounting to roughly half of last year’s total.