Hong Kong SAR

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is set to pull out all the stops to woo energy giant Saudi Aramco to list on the bourse, with its chief executive describing it as a “match made in heaven” this week. But the HKEX has even bigger ambitions — to move from an exchange dominated by Chinese companies to one with foreign issuers, writes Jonathan Breen.

Events, including a rise in the probability of a March interest rate hike and US President Donald Trump’s speech to Congress, did not hold investors back from jumping into deals from Grand China Air, China Aircraft Leasing Group (CALC) and Hong Kong Express Airways (HK Express) on Tuesday.

Onshore RMB bonds are increasingly making their presence felt in the international stage following the launch of a pair of Bloomberg-Barclays China indices on Wednesday.

The strength of the primary debt market in Asia shows no signs of abating, with a number of borrowers heading out on Thursday for fresh dollar fundraisings.

International asset managers are pushing for a more liberal version of the upcoming China-Hong Kong ETF Connect, with the focus on whether ETFs will be considered as stocks or funds by the regulators.

China Orient Asset Management (International) Holdings’ proposed Rmb2.8bn ($407m) Panda bond programme on the Shanghai Stock Exchange has been cancelled.

Hong Kong-listed Singamas Container Holdings has reached out to lenders for a $250m borrowing with one bank at the helm. Although the company posted a loss for the six months to June 30, 2016, its strong balance sheet due to low debt is expected to see the deal through, said bankers.

Tuesday turned out to be a big day for aviation related companies with Grand China Air, China Aircraft Leasing Group and Hong Kong Express Airways venturing out with their respective bonds, raising a combined $810m.

Environmental solutions provider China Everbright International is looking to spin off and list its subsidiary China Everbright Greentech (CEG) in a potential $300m IPO as soon as April, according to a banker familiar with the matter.

The Hong Kong Exchange traversed a difficult financial year, marked on the one hand by sagging trading on the Stock Connect, and on the other a surge in RMB FX derivatives activity. For 2017, HKEX’s chief executive Charles Li said more RMB products are in store.

Hong Kong’s stock exchange and Saudi Arabian energy company Saudi Aramco are potentially a match made in heaven, according to the bourse's chief executive officer Charles Li.

China Development Bank became the latest name to take advantage of a liquidity-abundant market, snapping up $3bn-equivalent from three floating rate tranches in two currencies — in one of the largest FRN trades out of Asia.