Hong Kong SAR

Investors accessing China’s interbank bond market (CIBM) using CIBM Direct will not be barred from using Bond Connect, the deputy governor of People’s Bank of China (PBoC), Pan Gongsheng, said at the Bond Connect launch ceremony on July 3.

In this week’s round-up, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) considers launching A-share related derivatives in Hong Kong after MSCI’s inclusion, Citi launches two onshore bond indices, and the Chinese premier says M&A by foreign companies is welcome in the Mainland.

Chinese commercial lender Zhongyuan Bank has opened the books on its HK$8.34bn ($1.1bn) IPO after securing commitments from three cornerstone investors for about half the deal.

Inner Mongolia Energy Engineering Co plans to launch bookbuilding for its Hong Kong IPO on Monday, and could bag up to HK$1.23bn ($157.6m).

Global gaming company Razer is planning to list in Hong Kong, and has filed a draft prospectus with the city’s stock exchange.

Mizuho has lost a banker in its syndicated loans department in Hong Kong, according to two sources.

Foreign institutional investors can settle their trades on a T+2 basis in China’s interbank bond market (CIBM), according to a June 29 announcement. The move will boost international investors’ confidence in accessing the Mainland fixed income market, according to participants.

As the first half comes to an end, the ECM market appears concerned that Hong Kong has lost its title as the top IPO destination in the world, slipping behind China and the US. The drop may be disappointing but market watchers should not read too much into that. The city’s exchange is on much stronger footing this year when compared to 2016.

Haitong Securities filed a draft prospectus in Hong Kong on Wednesday for the spin off and listing of its leasing unit Haitong UniTrust. The IPO is expected to raise around $500m, according to a banker close to the deal.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) and the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society (CGSE) committed to building a “major gold and commodities trading centre in Asia Pacific” on Thursday.

Standard Chartered’s head of capital markets solutions Lesi Zuo is leaving the bank for a job in fintech, according to sources.

The Asia expat world is small, and in Hong Kong it is even smaller. Small enough that you often bump into someone you know at the supermarket. So it is not surprising that often people just want to enjoy some anonymity.