Hong Kong SAR

Manulife Asset Management has appointed Geoff Lewis as key macro strategist, Asia, on the capital markets & strategy team.

US-based index provider MSCI will exclude Hong Kong listed securities with a high ownership concentration from its Global Investable Market Indexes (GIMI), it said in a statement on Monday.

Société Générale has appointed Ashwan Malhotra as managing director in a bid to strengthen its client coverage in Asia Pacific.

In this round-up, Chinese premier Li discussed RMB foreign exchange volatility with IMF's Lagarde, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank formally launched, a new A-shares exchange traded fund launched in Hong Kong, while a survey found Hong Kong retail investors fear RMB volatility most for 2016, and Tajikistan activated its currency swap line with China. Plus, a recap of GlobalRMB's top stories this week.

Morgan Stanley has announced a round of managing director promotions for the year, which include a number of capital markets moves in Asia.

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) wants to give investors access to IPOs in the city and China, with an “IPO connect” now in the works. But with investors still reeling from the turbulence in China’s A-share market, the move faces plenty of challenges.

Macau casino operator SJM Holdings is hunting for a HK$25bn ($3.2bn) loan to fund a new project in the city. Although the gaming industry in Macau is experiencing a lean period, loans bankers are expected to place their bets on SJM’s strong market position.

China Railway Rolling Stock Corp hit the equity-linked market this week for $600m, becoming only the second firm to print an H-share CB in Asia since 2007. The deal, which follows a similar issue from a Chinese peer earlier this month, has set in motion the transition from a rare deal type into a regular funding option.

Postal Savings Bank of China has selected five banks to lead its jumbo $15bn IPO, which is set to become the largest listing in Hong Kong in five years.

Lorna Greene, a former Commerzbank banker, has resurfaced as a member of National Australia Bank’s Asia DCM team.

Haitong International Securities has hit the market for a HK$8bn ($1bn) three year bullet, which could increase in size depending on demand.

The Indian government is to sell down a 10% stake in oil and gas company Engineers India via an offer for sale on Friday and is hoping to net around Rp6.63bn ($97.69m) based on its market capitalisation.