Hong Kong SAR

The Bond Connect will likely make its debut on July 3, Tae Yoo, head of client business development at the Hong Kong Exchange, told an industry event on Tuesday. While a full blueprint for the scheme is yet to be provided, what is clear is that Bond Connect investors will not have access to the onshore hedging market.

Shares in Hong Kong International Construction Investment Management Group, the property development and machinery leasing unit of Chinese conglomerate HNA Group, closed 2.3% higher on Tuesday after the company wrapped up its fully underwritten HK$9.2bn ($1.2bn) rights issue.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China’s Hong Kong branch made a quick return to the floating rate bond market, raising $700m from a dual-tranche outing on Monday. The lender was focusing more on price over size, with its five year proving to be investors’ sweet spot, according to bankers.

FIT Hon Teng has launched pre-deal investor education for its potential $500m Hong Kong IPO, according to a banker close to the deal.

China Securities Regulatory Commission welcomes the prospect of A-share inclusion by MSCI, China’s State Council publishes a new negative list to make foreign investment easier in free trade zones, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) makes its first equity investment.

Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (HKEX) could reinvent itself as a tech-friendly bourse by creating a board to host pre-profit companies and those with multiple share classes which would be a potential draw for the likes of Alibaba Group.

The European Central Bank switches €500m-equivalent of dollar for renminbi in its FX reserves, the International Monetary Fund adjusts China’s GDP growth forecast while recommending a more transparent monetary policy, and Singapore does a policy U-turn to support One Belt One Road (OBOR).

Lenders that worked on a HK$4.851bn ($622m) leveraged buyout loan to support MBK Partners and TPG Capital’s acquisition of telecom firm Wharf T&T have thrown their weight behind the same sponsors for a potential bid for Hutchison Global Communications, said bankers.

The concept of Bond Connect has rapidly transformed from market chatter into concrete policy proposals over the past few weeks. But as the anticipated launch date of July 1 draws closer, market participants remain concerned about potential risks, ranging from capital repatriation to the flexibility to switch between access programmes.

Bestway Global Holding and China Isotope & Radiation Corp are gunning for listings on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Equity capital market participants were stunned this week when a US bank, thought to be Morgan Stanley, offered to charge nothing to be a sponsor of China Tower’s $10bn Hong Kong IPO — a highly unusual move even by the city’s ultra-competitive standards. But the aggression was not unique, as most banks asked for token fees in the hope of winning the mandate.

ICBCI DCM co-head exits — Senior India departures at Barclays — CEB hires global markets deputy — ING appoints Asia levfin head