Northeast Asia

The Belt and Road Initiative is still bankrolled by Chinese government spending, China and Singapore upgrade their trade agreement, and the Bank of England renews a currency swap line with China.

The IPO plans of companies operating in the cryptocurrency sector are in limbo after Canaan, the world’s second largest maker of cryptocurrency mining equipment, let its IPO application on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange lapse on Thursday.

South Korea’s financial regulator has brought the hammer down on Samsung BioLogics, accusing it of intentionally overvaluing a subsidiary ahead of its W2.25tr ($2bn) IPO in late 2016.

Property developer Agile Group Holdings raised $400m from a two year bond at a generous level on Thursday. But the Chinese company is still faced with heavy near-term debt maturities.

Ma Jun, a member of the People’s Bank of China’s monetary policy committee, has come out in favour of altering bank capital rules to give lower risk weights for green assets — which could be a sign the PBoC is close to adopting the policy. He calls on China to lead the way and argues there is evidence green assets are less risky.

International banks have been raiding the yen market for loss-absorbing debt in recent weeks, with volatile conditions casting doubt on deal execution in other currencies.

Japanese pharmaceuticals company Takeda implemented the first part of its financing of a £46bn takeover of UK biotech firm Shire on Thursday. The company used a six tranche combination to raise €7.5bn on its debut in the euro market.

Beijing Enterprises Group and Youyuan International Holdings hit the loan market this week for their latest syndicated fundraisings.

Chinese local government financing vehicle (LGFV) Sichuan Transportation Investment Group Corp raised $350m from a three year bond on Wednesday, piercing through the secondary trading levels of its closest comparables.

Taiwan’s Mei Ta Industries and China’s New Hope Group have closed offshore borrowings, raising €245m and $150m, respectively. Ho Chi Minh City Power, meanwhile, has sealed Vietnam’s first onshore syndicated loan at D1.1bn ($47,000).

Chinese bank ICBC was forced to cancel its dual-tranche bond on Wednesday as a result of market conditions.

Hong Kong IPO hopefuls Babytree Group and Tongcheng-Elong Holdings announced deals drastically smaller than their initial targets this week. But despite the clear sign of trouble in the market, a few more Chinese companies are considering pushing ahead with their own listings before the end of the month. Jonathan Breen reports.