Greater China

China is planning to introduce new circuit breakers as it seeks to put a floor under the recent wild fluctuations in its equities market, which has seen successive rounds of panic selling erode confidence in its once-high flying A-share market.

In the confusing world of China’s investor access programmes, one thing regulators have made clear is that hedge funds are not welcome. The launch of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect gave the industry access the mainland markets, but the recent stock market trouble has seen regulators take a much harder stance.

The Standard Chartered RMB Globalisation Index (RGI) rose 2.3% in July, on the previous month — its first positive result in four months — despite the stock market rout that has weighed on Chinese market sentiment, the bank said in a September 8 report.

A lack of confidence in the renminbi will hurt demand for offshore renminbi bonds and decrease CNH liquidity, according to a new report by Dagong Global Credit Rating (Hong Kong), writes Daniel Monteiro.

Société Générale has appointed Laurent Morel as head of debt capital markets for Asia Pacific, taking over from Yves Jacob who has relocated to Paris.

A $240m dividend recapitalisation loan for Asia Satellite Telecommunications' (AsiaSat) sponsor Carlyle has been allocated, with eight lenders joining during general syndication.

HSBC has named former CLSA banker Andrew Maynard as head of sales trading and execution services for Asia Pacific equities, along with three other fresh senior hires for the unit.

China Securities (International) Finance Holding Company has picked banks for a US dollar bond, boosting the appeal of the notes with a standby letter of credit from the Hong Kong branch of China Construction Bank.

Today's Chinese equity rebound is supporting receiving interest in short-end CNY swaps. Sources expect the rebound to extend and drive the 1s/5s curve slope steeper over the next few weeks. Meanwhile, Russian bank VEB is planning a Panda bond issue, writes Deirdre Yeung of Total Derivatives.

Bi Feng Tang (Group) Holdings Corp has tapped Morgan Stanley as the sole sponsor for its proposed IPO in Hong Kong, with the casual restaurant chain filing a draft prospectus on September 4.

Barclays has strengthened its Asia Pacific coverage of the oil and gas sector with the hire of Jorge Martinez from HSBC.

Genscript Biotech Corp is eyeing a $150m listing in Hong Kong, with the company filing an A1 with the city’s stock exchange via sole sponsor Haitong International Capital.