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Attendees at Euromoney’s Central and Eastern Europe conference in Vienna, which was in full swing this week are bullish heading into 2018.

Following nearly a year of waiting, red chip company Shenzhen International Holdings is finally gearing up for its Panda bond debut on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. But the issuer appears to be cautious in its first outing, targeting only Rmb300m ($46.6m).

More central banks may add the Chinese currency to their FX reserves following Bundesbank’s indication to do so, Yifan Hu, regional chief investment officer and chief China economist at UBS, said at the Asian Financial Forum (AFF) on January 16.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) has become the first Japanese issuer to tap the Panda bond market, crossing the finishing line on the same day as Mizuho Bank. The issuer focused on attracting local investors in its debut deal, raising Rmb1bn ($154m) from the onshore market.

China's listed companies are set to sell stock directly to European investors. The first listing of an A-share company on the China Europe International Exchange (Ceinex) in Frankfurt will happen by June this year. Investment banks have already been mandated, GlobalCapital Asia's sister publication GlobalRMB has reported.

Expectations for a busy week in the investment grade corporate market were maintained despite only Telefonica taking advantage of good primary conditions on Monday, as it sold a benchmark nine year bond in euros.

Mizuho Bank opened the Japanese Panda bond market on January 12, sharing the title of first issuer in the category with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG). But instead of aiming for a blockbuster transaction, Mizuho treaded carefully – raising just Rmb500m ($77m) from the debut deal.

The International Finance Corp has appointed a new head of funding, following the departure of Ben Powell last October.

European rates markets suffered some volatility this week, but on a smaller scale than that experienced in the US. This did cause some widening of secondary spreads, but the sentiment around primary issuance has stayed constructive.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (Safe) has poured cold water over claims that China may stop buying US Treasury bonds. But there is a need for the country to diversify its debt portfolio in the long run if it is serious about promoting RMB internationalisation, economists told GlobalRMB.

The Chinese government contemplates RMB-denominated IPOs for mainland companies fundraising for Belt and Road projects, foreign ownership of Chinese bonds goes up in December, and premier Li Keqiang indicates the economy grew by 6.9% in 2017.

The sterling corporate bond market had a very strong year in 2017. So it is somewhat surprising, especially given the strength of the euro corporate bond market, that the scorecard in the sterling market remains blank. However, there have been signs of life with a pair of roadshows announced this week.