Hong Kong SAR

ABN Amro is welcoming back one of its own to head up the financial institutions group in Asia.

Nanyang Commercial Bank added $1.2bn to its coffers on Thursday with an additional tier one bond, managing to price its deal close to fair value.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp has sent out a request for proposals for a potential $10bn spin off and listing of subsidiary Sinopec Marketing Co, according to bankers who received the invitation.

The PBoC is rumoured to be looking into making the daily fixing more stable, MSCI says there are still questions on including A-shares in its emerging market index in June, and Vanguard sets up its first wholly foreign owned entity (WFOE) in Shanghai.

Standard Chartered has become the first non-Chinese bank in Singapore to close a dollar-renminbi FX forward trade via the onshore China Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS), the firm said in a statement on Thursday.

Much has been written about the weather in Hong Kong and its unpredictability. Anyone who has lived here for any length of time will know, it can lead to discomfiting situations, as one of my good friends found out this week.

WuXi Biologics’ HK$3.9bn ($510.4m) IPO is off to a resounding start, with books multiple times covered within hours of opening on Thursday, according to bankers close to the deal.

The Asia ex-Japan G3 bond market saw a slew of issuers from a variety of backgrounds hit the market on Thursday, with borrowers from Greater China as well as Indonesia venturing offshore.

The renminbi fell behind the Swiss franc in terms of share of global payments in April, according to SWIFT’s RMB tracker. The Chinese currency is now the seventh most used global payment currency, accounting for only 1.6% of all payments.

China Citic Bank International issued its first Panda bond this week, pricing a Rmb3bn ($437m) three year. The proceeds will remain onshore, but it is understood the deal will help meet the borrower’s funding needs for both the mainland and Hong Kong.

The upcoming Bond Connect could open up more hedging tools beyond FX for investors in RMB-denominated assets. However, experts warn the additional scheme will create fresh issues for investors that have already accessed China via older systems — unless the regulators take further harmonisation steps.

Market participants are preparing for a July 1 launch of the Bond Connect, with details slowly emerging on the scheme’s features. Meanwhile, banks are also expecting a June 25 announcement on which institutions will act as Bond Connect market makers, GlobalRMB has learned.