Greater China

Romance for young, single investment bankers usually falls prey to their notorious working hours and stressful work.

Everbright Securities Co has started building books for what would be its debut outing in the dollar bond market. The Chinese brokerage firm secured a standby letter of credit (SBLC) from China Merchants Bank for the notes.

The IMF board of directors approved on August 11 a suggestion by IMF staff to extend the current composition of the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) facility to September 2016, the IMF said in an August 19 statement. The timeline for a decision on the possible inclusion of the RMB, however, remains unchanged, with the board set to meet in November.

Weak demand signals from China and increasing currency volatility have extended losses for the copper futures and options market.

Last year's launch of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect and the technical challenges that followed it highlight the need for continued harmonisation of market practices, according to Omgeo, a post-trade processing firm.

The idea of China using its own currency to buy and sell commodities on the global market attracts plenty of scepticism. But the Gold Connect that launched in Hong Kong last month and a new trading platform in the Shanghai free trade zone (FTZ) show that China is serious about its plans to make the RMB into a global commodity currency.

Bank of Communications (BoCom) Financial Leasing braved a cautious market on Tuesday August 18 to price a dual tranche trade. The borrower succeeded in making its debut in euros, while strong demand allowed the dollar tranche to come inside its existing curve.

Shanghai Pudong Development Bank and Ping An Bank have been picked as underwriters and mandated lead arrangers to a $1.1bn loan for the take-private of New York-listed Wuxi PharmaTech.

Hong Kong conglomerate Chinney Alliance is one step closer to spinning off its foundation piling business – Chinney Kin Wing Holdings – having filed a listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx) on August 18.

Diva Hon has joined Bank of Communications International as an executive director in the equity capital markets team, after spending more than nine years with Citic CLSA Securities.

South Africa is experiencing a difficult week in credit markets, with credit default swaps that reference its debt hitting their widest point for two years.

After the uneasy calm that fell over equity markets following China’s devaluation of the renmimbi last week, investors got another rude shock on Tuesday when Shanghai stocks tumbled 6.2%, prompting bankers to mull over the possibility of pulled deals.