Greater China

In a starved Russian loan market peppered with asset backed loans, three Chinese banks have lent a highly prized unsecured credit facility of Rmb4.8bn ($730m) to Russian mining company Norilsk Nickel. It is the latest sign of the increasing importance of Chinese money in a Russian economy increasingly squeezed by international sanctions and falling oil prices. Elly Whittaker reports.

HNA Group International, a Hong Kong-based investment holding subsidiary of airline HNA Group, is preparing its debut Panda bond. The trade will be sold into China’s exchange bond market, which has recently started giving approvals for Panda bonds from red chip companies.

Hungary will not issue a dim sum bond until a period of sustained stability is seen in the Chinese markets, said bankers on Wednesday.

China Nonferrous Metal Mining and Vista Land & Lifescapes are meeting investors ahead of their respective dollar offerings, while Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology is set to gauge interest in Europe for a euro-denominated deal.

The Asia head and chief executive officer of Mitsubishi UFJ Securities (Hong Kong) is to hand over the reins to a colleague in April.

The drawing power of one of Asia’s top credits was on show this week with Ping An Life Insurance Co of China debuting in the dollar bond market with a $1.2bn deal that was multiple times covered across two tranches.

China Energy Reserve and Chemicals Group offered bond investors a generous premium to make up for its unrated status and for executing a deal with a less investor-friendly structure. Chinese banks, including those working on the trade, submitted anchor orders and contributed to the transaction's success.

Dalian Port Co has raised HK$4.33bn ($558.55m) from the first tranche of its private placement of H-shares, with a single investor taking up all the stock on offer, according to a company filing.

China Water Affairs has allocated its latest loan of $200m, doubling the deal size after a score of lenders formed the syndicate.

United Asia Finance (UAF) has started approaching banks for a new syndicated loan, as the Sun Hung Kai owned borrower returns to the market after nearly a year.

The Asia ex-Japan debt capital market was crowded with dollar issuers on January 13, with two investment grade bonds and two high yield notes opening in the morning.

There was shock this week in the offshore market when CNH Hong Kong interbank offered rate (CNH Hibor) reached a record high overnight of 66.8% on January 12. The dramatic move was a result of the People’s Bank of China interventions to stop people shorting the currency, FX traders told GlobalRMB.