Northeast Asia

What impact has Covid-19 had on Japan? The answer is complicated. No major economy has done so well at containing the spread of the virus — or so badly at limiting the economic fall-out. William Pesek reports.

The Bank of Japan has long been the driver of yields in the government bond market. It has increasingly become a key player in corporate bonds as well, creating opportunities for issuers and investors alike.

Japan’s banks have faced multiple crises over past decades, but the coronavirus pandemic has thrown out some fresh surprises — and could challenge their future growth, writes William Pesek.

Samurai bonds have taken a big hit this year due to Covid-19, with deal volumes slumping by more than 75%. This has not only tested the resilience of the market — but also raised serious questions about its long-term prospects.

This week in Keeping Tabs: what scientists still don't know about coronavirus as we grapple with a second wave, ESG index funds outperformed in the first half of the year, and Japan's currency challenge.

In this round-up, the World Trade Organization rules that additional tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on some Chinese goods in 2018 breached international trade regulations, ByteDance makes progress on the sale of TikTok in the US, and Hong Kong asks Washington to drop its demand for the city’s exports to be labelled as ‘made in China’.

In this round-up, the recovery of the Chinese economy picks up pace, the country’s micro loan companies face stricter regulations, and the trading hours of bonds in the interbank market have been extended to draw more international demand.

Neusoft Education Technology, a Chinese private higher education provider, hit the road with its Hong Kong IPO this week, aiming to raise HK$1.04bn ($133.8m).

Beijing Enterprises Holdings took €500m from its maiden green bond on Thursday, helped by support from the bookrunners on the deal.

Instant noodle maker Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding Corp was back with a $500m deal on Thursday after an eight-year hiatus from the dollar bond market.

Bond sales from Chinese issuers continued unabated on Thursday despite heavy supply in the first half of the week, with firms raising a combined $1.1bn from the debt market.

Formosa Plastics Corp is seeking a $2bn loan that bankers expect to be priced at a record low for borrowers from Taiwan, setting a benchmark for future transactions.