Greater China

Legal action launched by six Taiwanese lenders against Nomura for a syndicated loan that went into default, has unearthed simmering conflicts in the tightly knit Asian syndicated loan community. The fallout will have ramifications for Nomura and the wider loan market, writes Shruti Chaturvedi.

Back in the day, us bankers would go to any lengths to win new business. Marathon drinking sessions with issuers – check. A promise of internships to their nieces, nephews or neighbours – check that off too. But while such enticements have now been severely curtailed, a friend surprised me with his latest adventure.

Zhongyu Gas fires up refi — Trans Corp hit syndication — Cheng Loong raising Vietnam funds — Global Bank gets bigger loan

Hong Kong-listed Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp returned to the equity-linked market this week for the first time since 2014, soaking up demand to raise $450m with a seven non-call four year convertible.

Tianjin Infrastructure Construction (TJII) has become latest Chinese local government financing vehicle to tap the international bond market, pricing a new $500m three year. Bankers on the deal were encouraged to see a Chinese LGFV trade resonate well with offshore investors who had previously remained on the sidelines.

Former Barclays banker Candace Hahm is set to join Mitsubishi UFJ Securities (HK) as an associate for the capital markets group.

The Asian ex-Japan high yield bond market received a boost on Wednesday with Samvardhana Motherson Automotive Systems Group and Xuzhou Economic and Technology Development Zone State-Owned Assets Management (Xuzhou ETDZ) opening books for their dollar debuts.

The news that the US is to receive a Rmb250bn investment quota has been greeted as a welcome, if long overdue, development. Plans are also underway to set up a renminbi clearing system in the US, but the challenge will be convincing the country’s corporates to use the currency.

The Taiwan Futures Exchange (Taifex) is set to launch the first exchange-traded options on RMB rates this month, the exchange told GlobalRMB. Taifex is also seeking regulatory approval to launch more A-shares index futures.

Chinese conglomerate, Citic, raised $1.25bn from dual-tranche dollar notes, which were its first outing to the dollar bond market since changes to its structure nearly two years ago. The markets were still jittery but the issuer was able to live up to its name value by effortlessly raising the target amount and saving costs.

The Asian Development Bank reaffirmed its desire to revisit the Chinese Panda bond market at a conference in Beijing last week, although any deal will hinge on the resolution of problems linked to accounting standards.

A senior banker covering onshore China loans at Standard Chartered is set to step into the shoes of Lewis Wong, who quit as regional head of loan syndications for Greater China and northeast Asia, in May.