Greater China

In this round-up, Hong Kong sees further drops in its RMB deposits base in June, new RMB futures contracts on the Hong Kong Exchange (HKEX) reach trading records in early August, and a Chinese regulator sets up a working group to prepare for the Shenzhen Connect launch. Plus, a recap of GlobalRMB's top stories this week.

Citi’s Kenneth Leung will take on an expanded role as head China-focused financial sponsor coverage after Victor Yuan returns to the US, according to a memo seen by GlobalCapital Asia.

HNA Group has sealed its return to the offshore debt market as yield-starved investors nudged the unrated issuer to open a new three year trade. While the order book is not big compared with other recently deals, the issuer was still able price tightly.

With the World Bank set to issue a ground-breaking bond denominated in IMF special drawing rights (SDR) in China this month, markets are starting to take a closer look at what the odds are for the SDR to pull off its transition to a real-world financial instrument.

It has been one year since China shocked the world with a new methodology for generating its official daily USD/CNY fix that caused a sharp fall in the currency. Market participants told GlobalRMB that the new regime is a step up from the old system, but while more near-term reforms are unlikely, they are bracing for even more volatility.

Everbright Securities braved the summer slowdown this week to seal Hong Kong’s fourth $1bn-plus IPO of 2016. Investors turned up for the deal, but to secure its success Everbright followed its peers in placing a large chunk of the float with cornerstone investors. Although eye-catching, the move did not dampen demand, with orders covering the book throughout its pricing range. Jonathan Breen and John Loh report.

China Construction Bank’s Singapore branch is set to price the first offshore renminbi (CNH) bond in over a month, after opening books for a two year trade.

China Universal Leasing is seeking Rmb1bn ($150.5m) onshore, with two mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners distributing the deal on a best efforts basis.

Bank of Communications Hong Kong branch made an opportunistic move this week to complete its second dollar bond outing of the year. Its floating rate note attracted a multiple times covered book, allowing it to increase the size of the deal while pushing down funding costs.

Ford Auto Finance (China) is set to launch its second auto ABS transaction of 2016 with a Rmb3bn ($450m) offering that is almost identical to its outing earlier in the year.

It has been one year since China shocked the world with a new methodology for generating its official daily USD/CNY fix that caused a sharp fall in the currency. Market participants told GlobalRMB that the new regime has been a step up from the old system, but while more near-term reforms are unlikely, they are bracing for even more volatility.

Investment and merchant bank Ion Pacific has hired a managing director to help expand its coverage of cross-border opportunities between Asia and the West.