Northeast Asia

Covered bond issuers were urged to do their toughest covered bond trades in the wake of an outstanding result on Thursday for Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, which attracted a deeper and broader range of higher quality demand for its first negative yielding structured covered bond than any of its previous deals.

Fast food franchise operator Yum China Holdings is cooking a multi-billion-dollar secondary offering in Hong Kong. It is the latest deal in a growing trend that bankers expect will bring more US-listed Chinese companies to the exchange by the the end of 2020, writes Jonathan Breen.

Solar glass manufacturer Xinyi Solar Holdings raised HK$2.7bn ($343.5m) on Wednesday, after boosting the size of a primary share sale.

China is working on new rules to give foreign investors fuller access to the world’s second largest bond market. However, bankers are sceptical. Addison Gong reports.

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation sent a positive signal to hesitant Asian covered bond issuers on Thursday when it was set to price its first negative yielding covered bond, attracting a deeper and broader scale of demand than on any of its previous deals.

Beijing Infrastructure Investment Co used a direct guarantee structure for its dollar bond return instead of a keepwell agreement, just days after keepwell deals sold by Peking University Founder Group were not recognised in a debt restructuring. The move paid off for the metro operator — bolstering the rating of its deal and helping it get away with tight pricing. Alice Huang reports.

Shinzo Abe, Japan’s prime minister, who has decided to retire, will be missed by many bankers.

BOSC International, Bank of Shanghai’s investment bank, took an aggressive approach to pricing its $300m bond on Wednesday. Investors balked at the issuer’s strategy, forcing it to settle for a much smaller deal than planned.

Standard Chartered has relocated a veteran banker from Taiwan to take on the newly created job of chief executive officer for the Greater Bay Area.

Hong Kong-listed Geely Automobile has filed an application to list on the Shanghai Star board, as it prepares to become the first automaker to float on the bourse.

Chinese property developers China South City Holdings and Kaisa Group Holdings offered generous premiums for their bond outings this week in a bid to ensure strong aftermarket performance.

China Merchants Bank (CMB) sold its first green bond on Wednesday, taking $800m on the back of support from sustainability-focused investors.