Hong Kong dollar

Huarong International Financial Holdings is seeking a HK$1.5bn ($193m) dual tranche loan and has picked a Taiwanese bank to lead the trade.

A shift in a cross currency basis swap rate is behind a spurt of issuance in Hong Kong dollars, said bankers.

The Province of Quebec has returned to the medium term note market after a long absence, printing in Hong Kong dollars.

DBS Group Holdings has completed its inaugural foray into Hong Kong’s bank capital market, selling a Basel III tier two trade last week. The move is part of the Singaporean lender's strategy to diversify its bank capital funding sources.

Hong Kong’s MTR Corp has a reputation for recalibrating pricing in the region’s syndicated loan market and its latest HK$15bn ($1.9bn) dual-tranche facility is no different. The company has returned to the market after a gap of nearly 10 years, but its long absence is unlikely to pose a challenge, writes Shruti Chaturvedi.

Haitong International Securities has hit the market for a HK$8bn ($1bn) three year bullet, which could increase in size depending on demand.

Banks leapt on demand for Hong Kong dollar medium term notes this week, as better than expected US non-farm payrolls drove rates up in the dollar-pegged currency.

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank this week made a rare appearance in Hong Kong dollars, selling what is only its second private MTN in the currency in nearly eight years.

United Overseas Bank this week priced Asia’s first tier one Basel III-compliant bonds, getting an S$850m ($670.9m) perpetual non-call five deal away at just 4.9% — a level that even rival bankers grudgingly admitted was tighter than they had expected, writes Frances Yoon.

China’s Ministry of Finance is planning to sell a Rmb1bn 15 year tranche as part of its Rmb23bn ($3.6bn) offshore renminbi bond offering at the end of the month, the first time it has issued in the maturity. That could lead to a boost in longer-dated issuance, said bankers and investors.

Bank of East Asia’s China branch raised Rmb1bn ($159m) from its second visit to the dim sum bond market late last week, offering a juicy yield pick up against outstanding notes from other lenders.

The appreciation of the renminbi has been a big driver of dim sum bond buying since the market opened less than two years ago, but increasing doubts about the rise of the currency have made investors more and more on yields. But there is still room for the currency to go up, according to Brian Jackson, a senior strategist at RBC Capital markets.