Hong Kong SAR

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission has fired a warning shot at banks, with both Standard Chartered and UBS being investigated for their roles as IPO sponsors. The move has left other banks wondering which one will be next and comes at a time when the IPO market is teetering. John Loh reports.

ECM bankers in Hong Kong are playing the blame game after a string of recent IPOs disappointed in secondary, fuelling angst among hedge funds and fears that this could hurt the year-end pipeline.

A man of my intelligence really ought to have known better. I should have trusted my instincts when an acquaintance I hadn't heard from in years invited me, out of the blue, to a news conference his company was holding in the Island Shangri-La hotel last week.

Hydropower firm China Yangtze Power Co debuted in the equity-linked bond market this week, raising $521.9m with a dual currency exchangeable bond — a product rarely seen in Asia. The liquid nature of the underlying stock and the credit quality of the issuer helped reel in demand, writes Jonathan Breen.

Guangdong Kanghua Healthcare Co priced its Hong Kong IPO at the bottom of expectations on Tuesday, as bankers blamed the poor aftermarket of recent listings for weighing on investor sentiment.

Hydropower firm China Yangtze Power Co launched a dual currency exchangeable bond on Wednesday evening, looking to fetch $521.8m, according to a termsheet seen by GlobalCapital Asia.

Global mining firm MMG, whose largest shareholder is China Minmetals Corp, has proposed a rights issue of over 2.5bn new shares in a move to raise HK$4.0bn ($515.8m).

Hong Kong’s IPO sponsors are in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons as Standard Chartered and UBS face investigations by the city’s regulator. As a former IPO banker and joint author of the study manual for sponsors, our columnist Clawback is perfectly placed to delve into the pitfalls for banks.

Standard Chartered may be penalised by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) for its role as a joint sponsor on an IPO from 2009, amid a wider crackdown on banks by the market watchdog.

China’s Datang Environment Industry Group Co has launched bookbuilding for a potential HK$2.6bn ($330.1m) listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange — its second attempt at floating in the city.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch's Peter Guenthardt and Chris Gammons are exchanging roles in Asia, with Guenthardt assuming leadership of southeast Asia and Gammons taking over global capital markets.

ANZ has hired Jason Lam as a director of credit sales based in Hong Kong, poaching him from Nomura.