Hong Kong SAR

Jafar Amin has been promoted to regional president for Asia Pacific at Wells Fargo, relocating to Hong Kong after working in London for nearly five years.

Intervention by Chinese authorities to stabilise RMB markets on and offshore have ushered in a difficult phase for foreign corporates, who once again are facing issues of trapped cash and tougher liquidity conditions.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) released one of the most disappointing sets of RMB data last week when it revealed that the city’s renminbi deposits had plunged 12.9% in December 2016 to Rmb546.7bn ($79.5bn).

Japanese slot machine operator Okura Holdings is looking to float shares in Hong Kong, filing a draft prospectus with the city’s bourse on Wednesday.

HSBC has promoted Hossein Zaimi to become global head of equities, replacing Patrick George in the role, who continues as EMEA global markets head.

Welcome back to those of you outside of China and Taiwan. While we were on a break, Hong Kong revealed the largest single month drop in CNH deposits, China experienced $203bn of outflows in December 2016, and Mega Bank advises against clients holding long RMB positions.

KWG Property Holding signed a dual currency term loan with a group of lenders on January 27, with the money to be used for refinancing and corporate funding requirements.

JQ Pictures Holdings, the firm behind film star Jackie Chan’s latest movie, is vying for an IPO of around $100m in Hong Kong, according to a banker close to the deal.

Central American development bank Cabei began its funding for 2017 by issuing more than $100m-equivalent in niche currencies, the bank’s head of capital and financial markets told GlobalCapital.

One thing my contemporaries in banking can never be accused of is lacking optimism. And sometimes, the tactics they deploy to stay positive amid dwindling deal flow surprises even me.

Renminbi internationalisation struggled to make progress in 2016 with RMB payments declining by close to 30%, according to Swift.

Qingdao Port International Co is seeking the OK from shareholders for an H-share placement that could raise around HK$1.03bn ($132.8m), according to a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.