Greater China

Russia’s Vnesheconombank is in talks to sell Panda bonds, but the note will be placed next year at the earliest, said a source close to the borrower.

Following the recent devaluation of the renminbi, E Fund Management suffered some redemptions from its RMB qualified foreign institutional investor (RQFII) funds. Despite that, a more market-driven FX pricing mechanism is positive for further development of RQFII in the long run, says Jeffrey Qi, portfolio manager at the world’s second largest RQFII quota holder.

The Chinese authorities have made several steps towards the full opening of the capital account over the years. But mounting evidence of China’s economic slowdown has made those efforts look increasingly erratic. A step by step approach would be nothing to sneer at, but the authorities’ dance of reforms followed by shameless back-stepping risks transforming the whole business into a farce.

Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co (SPDB) is due to start roadshow for a proposed dollar bond this week.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has bolstered its Asia Pacific investment banking team with a new hire from Morgan Stanley.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has added to its ECM syndicate desk in Hong Kong with an internal transfer, according to sources with knowledge of the move.

Taiwanese leasing company Chailease International Financial Service is considering raising the size of its borrowing marginally to $130m, after six banks joined the deal during syndication.

The vast majority of payments from South Korea to China and Hong Kong are now processed in RMB, Swift said in its latest RMB Tracker report issued on September 1. A day earlier, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (Safe) said it had added three new Seoul-based institutional investors to the RMB qualified foreign institutional investor (RQFII) programme in August, with 60% of the Rmb80bn ($12.4bn) country quota now distributed.

Nomura has appointed Chee Pin Lee as the head of financial products and solutions for wealth management, Asia ex-Japan, in what is a newly created role at the bank.

Law firm Ropes & Gray has strengthened its private equity practice, hiring Daniel Yeh as a partner in the Hong Kong office.

A $240m dividend recapitalisation loan for Asia Satellite Telecommunications' (AsiaSat) sponsor Carlyle has seen seven banks commit so far, with one more lender awaited.

Onshore Chinese corporates are generally bearish on the short-term outlook for the economy as sentiment remains fragile, according to a new report from Standard Chartered. Companies are also predicting the renminbi will weaken by year end with the increased volatility increasing their interest in managing FX risk.