Northeast Asia

South Korea’s Hanwha Life Insurance Co will meet international investors from next week ahead of a subordinated transaction. The issuer is one of many from the country that is looking to beef up its capital ratios, as the government gets ready to adopt new international accounting standards.

SK Lubricants has begun gauging investor appetite for its W1.6tr ($1.5bn) IPO in South Korea through a syndicate of seven banks.

A year after selling a $3.1bn-equivalent four-currency, six-tranche Belt and Road blockbuster, Bank of China is making a comeback with another Reg S only bond to support the initiative.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) publishes plans to bring overseas-listed tech companies back to the Chinese equity market through depository receipts, policymakers emphasise the need to safeguard against systemic financial risks, and the Ministry of Commerce slaps tariffs on US goods.

As the introduction of weighted voting rights (WVR) and pre-revenue companies’ listings get nearer in Hong Kong, Clawback columnist Philippe Espinasse sees an opportune time for a quick take on the types of companies that the exchange — which is probably the most volatile of the world’s major primary markets — readily allows.

China is embarking on a trial programme to woo its homegrown technology giants, publishing guidelines for a China Depository Receipt (CDR) listing in the A-share market.

Debt bankers in Hong Kong were back after a four-day Easter break on Tuesday to some disappointing issuance numbers from the first quarter of the year. But with a decent pipeline of deals, they are keeping their fingers crossed for a pick-up in activity.

SK Innovation will sell a quarter of its stake in SK Lubricants through a W1.2tr ($1.2bn) IPO in South Korea next month.

Baidu-backed video streaming platform iQiyi has raised $2.25bn after pricing its Nasdaq IPO at the mid-point of guidance, according to a banker close to the deal.

Chinese government-owned Shougang Group Co spotted an opening in the debt market on Wednesday to execute an opportunistic $500m trade. It opted for a short tenor to speed up the process, while also satisfying investors’ preference for shorter-dated notes.

China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and Hong Kong have signed an economic partnership agreement, solidifying Hong Kong’s role in the Mainland’s international fundraising activity.

International investors have long been forced to focus on the short end of the credit curve and government securities in China given the lack of tools to evaluate risk. But that could change with the relaxation of foreign credit rating agencies’ business scope in the country, market participants told the Euromoney China Debt Capital Markets Summit on Wednesday.