Greater China

Chinese paediatric nutrition company Biostime International Holdings has put into motion an $845m loan package to refinance debt.

JD.com’s inaugural outing in the international bond market could not have veered any further from expectations when the notes tanked in the secondary market. An overzealous pricing strategy was the main culprit for the poor performance, but divisive credit ratings for the Chinese company did not help either. Rev Hui reports.

Qatar National Bank has sold the largest ever dollar floating rate note Formosa bond — a $625m deal — as several other issuers from the region clamour for the attention of this Taiwanese bond market.

StanChart veteran Lim retires — Lam given top China job at Citi — Citi India banker heads to HDFC Bank — BNP Paribas hires Ratliff for senior role

China’s Yintech Investment Holdings closed unchanged on its first day of trading on the Nasdaq on Wednesday, after pricing its $101.3m IPO at the mid-point of the range.

Another week and another bank has announced a round of cuts. If it continues like this, we bankers are going to become an endangered species — especially as the current earnings season isn’t providing any joy either.

The loans team at Société Générale is seeing changes at the top as José-Antonio Olano, head of loan syndicate and sales for Asia Pacific, is taking on a new role in with the bank in Europe, according to sources.

A multi-currency loan for Sino Horizon Holdings has been launched into syndication via one bank. But as the facility size is relatively small, not all lenders will be able to get a piece of the deal.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) made a comeback to the bond market this week with a $3bn four-tranche deal. But in a step away from its previous outings, the oil and gas giant opted for price over size.

BOC Aviation started gauging investor appetite this week for its $2bn IPO in Hong Kong, with books set to open in mid-May.

China Vanke has announced plans to issue an offshore, foreign currency-denominated bond, according to a filing with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

Asia Development Bank (ADB) and the International Finance Corp (IFC), the first issuers to sell Panda bonds, will not be able to return to the market quickly as Chinese regulators are refusing to grant them an exception to the accounting rules.