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Hybrid capital bankers who have insisted for the last few years that the rating agencies’ criteria were now stable and settled will be eating their words today. Standard & Poor’s has stripped the equity credit from 29 corporate hybrids, though it claims this is not a criteria change.

China Cinda Asset Management has sent out a request for proposals for a loan of around $5bn to back its bid for the acquisition of Nanyang Commercial Bank, according to sources.

SSA borrowers this week provided investors with a strong line up of innovative products. A new standard was set in SRI bonds, Cyprus raised €1bn via an innovative switch offer, Italy sold two year debt at a negative yield and British Columbia is lining up its debt Panda bond.

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.

Middle East market momentum shows no signs of stopping, with fresh mandates mounting and appetite proving equal to supply. In the euro market, meanwhile, Peru secured its lowest coupon ever for an international deal.

Korea Housing Finance Corp is gearing up to issue its first covered bond in more than two years and is set to meet investors from next week.

The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka has tapped the dollar bond market for the second time this year with a $1.5bn transaction. Even though the sovereign had to pay up more than in its May outing, it ended up executing its largest ever bond.

Nordic companies are showing a strong willingness to adopt the renminbi for payments which is a creating an opportunity for Sweden’s SEB Paula da Silva, head of transaction services at SEB, told GlobalRMB at the recent Sibos conference held in Singapore.

The surprise devaluation of the RMB in August surprised the markets, but banks are still seeing growing interest in the Shanghai pilot free trade zone (FTZ) as a treasury hub that can help manage local and regional liquidity needs. And the Chinese authorities have just pledged more liberalisation in the future.

The syndication timeline for a $145m loan backing the Blackstone Group’s acquisition of some Indian assets has been pushed back.

Latin American sovereigns’ march back towards European bond markets continued on Tuesday as Peru achieved its lowest ever coupon on an international bond with its long 10 year. But opinion is split on the value of the euro market.

Next month sees the launch of the China Europe International Exchange (CEINEX), a joint venture between China and Germany. The exchange will develop and distribute offshore RMB including five new ETFS that are expected go live at the same time as CEINEX.