Hong Kong SAR

China’s effort to deleverage and rebalance the economy will be tested in 2019 as corporate defaults rise, hidden local government debts surface, and liquidity for the private sector gets squeezed, according to a January 7 poll by S&P.

Chinese property manager Country Garden Services Holdings has pocketed HK$1.96bn ($249.9m) from a top-up placement of new shares.

In this round-up, China’s foreign exchange reserves rebounded slightly for the second month in a row, Standard Chartered’s index for international RMB usage fell again, and China's consumer price index (CPI) inflation decelerated at the close of 2018.

Tencent Holdings-backed Weimob raised HK$845m ($107.8m) after pricing its IPO at the bottom of the indicative range on Thursday, a bit behind the original schedule, according to a banker close to the deal.

Cultured, guitar-playing capital markets banker who was widely seen as the best SSA originator in the business died on December 26. He was 48 and had been suffering from cancer.

Catching up with friends on the latest gossip is always good fun — but only if you are meeting at a respectable place.

Hong Kong’s Dah Sing Bank priced a popular $225m Basel III-compliant tier two deal this week, kicking off what is set to be a critical year for Asia’s bank capital market. Addison Gong reports.

CK Infrastructure Holdings has corralled HK$2.32bn ($295.7m) after offloading some of its shares in Power Assets Holdings, according to a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

China YuHua Education Corp has bagged HK$940m ($119.9m) from a sub-one year convertible bond, bumping up the deal size on the back of strong hedge fund demand.

China YuHua Education Corp has launched bookbuilding for a sub-one year convertible bond that could raise up to HK$800m ($102.1m).

Hong Kong’s Dah Sing Bank priced a popular $225m Basel III-compliant tier two deal, starting the market on a strong note in a year where more than $24bn of capital bonds from Asia are coming up for call.

Haitong International Securities has returned to the loan market for a HK$13.8bn ($1.7bn) refinancing led by a 16-strong group of mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners.