Greater China

Export-Import Bank of Korea (Kexim) is gearing up to sell its first Panda bond in 2016. The policy lender is considering the asset class due to its attractive pricing when compared with offshore renminbi bonds.

The drop in offshore RMB (CNH) deposits in Hong Kong, and the further tightening of CNH liquidity due to the intervention of the Chinese central bank, is being touted as examples of how investors are ready to sell out of RMB assets. But a glance at liquidity trends across other RMB hubs reveals that the picture may be more nuanced.

Chinese company Haier has enlisted three lenders to fund its $5.4bn acquisition of Kentucky headquartered GE Appliances.

China’s stock market regulator has conceded that it made mistakes following June 2015’s market crash and that its system for governing the country’s financial markets is inadequate.

Standard & Poor’s has warned that Chinese property developers could be in line for possible rating downgrades if the renminbi continues to depreciate.

The Province of British Columbia (BC) is set to price its debut Panda bond on Thursday, January 21. The up to Rmb3bn ($457m) three year offering is being marketed at a range of 2.6%-3.0%, several sources have told GlobalRMB.

China’s central bank drew a lot of criticism this week for its decision to intervene in the offshore renminbi market. But David Bloom global head of foreign exchange strategy at HSBC, says the People’s Bank of China was correct in trying to stop the CNH depreciation.

Chinese peer-to-peer lender Lufax is calling on banks to pitch for its $5bn listing in Hong Kong, expected to be the city’s largest float in 2016.

Hong Kong’s Hsin Chong Construction Group managed to get a difficult $150m bond away this week, braving volatile markets with a two-day execution and private bank backing.

In this round-up, China's RMB trade settlement touches a new high, Hong Kong RMB clearing grew by 30% in 2015, South Korea's RMB deposits shrank by 75% over the year, Singapore plans closer cross-border RMB co-operation with China, and several Belt and Road initiatives were announced. Plus, a recap of GlobalRMB's top stories this week.

Chemicals group ChemChina will use the proceeds of a bridge facility to support its €925m acquisition of German manufacturer KraussMaffei Group, announced on Monday.

Standard Chartered has revealed the new management structure of its global capital markets team following a highly publicised restructuring last year. Leading the revamped capital markets unit is Henrik Raber, who told GlobalCapital Asia this week that he is confident the bank will be able to stand strong amid changes. Rev Hui reports.