Hong Kong SAR

The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect is approaching its first birthday, with market participants eager to see the scheme expanded to reach its full potential with the inclusion of the Shenzhen-listed stocks as the first order of business and a potential expansion overseas to London. But from an infrastructure perspective, there remains a wide gap between China and most developed markets.

China International Capital Corp (CICC), which is looking to raise HK$6.29bn ($811.61m) in a Hong Kong IPO, has sent out a covered book message to investors ahead of its expected pricing on Friday.

Citi has hired a former Standard Chartered banker as its new chief economist for India.

Xinyi Solar has raised a smaller-than-expected HK$543.5m ($70.1m) from a top-up placement of shares, shrinking the deal by about 45% following its launch. Despite the transaction being slashed, sources are adamant the company found a good window to raise equity.

Golden Meditech has closed its HK$985.70m ($127.19m) rights issue with shareholders taking up just 69% of the transaction, forcing its underwriter to absorb the remaining shares.

Wenzhou Kangning Hospital Co started to test investor appetite for its IPO of around $100m on Monday, with bookbuilding expected to kick off in early November.

China International Capital Corp (CICC) is continuing the recent run of Hong Kong IPOs counting on heavy cornerstone support from state-owned enterprises. The investment bank opened books on Monday for a HK$6.29bn ($811.61m) listing, with about half the trade already covered by SOEs.

Standard Chartered has decided to exit its equity derivatives and convertible bonds businesses in yet another move by the bank to bolster its performance by withdrawing from non-core operations.

Wenzhou Kangning Hospital Co is set to pre-market its $100m Hong Kong IPO on October 26, with investor education slated to run for about two weeks before bookbuilding starts.

A shareholder in Hong Kong-listed Phoenix Healthcare Group has raised HK$894m ($115.35m) by selling some of his shares in the company via a block trade.

Bookrunners on a S$192m ($137.8m) loan for Citic Envirotech are sounding out a select group of banks to join the deal in syndication.

China Huarong Asset Management pulled off a HK$17.83bn ($2.30bn) IPO on October 22, pricing one of Hong Kong’s largest listings this year just a few cents off the bottom of the initial range. But the price tag has sparked debate among bankers, with some saying the issuer was pushing its luck.