Northeast Asia

An official with the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) has slammed a much-discussed plan to link the Mainland and Hong Kong primary equity markets.

Qatar Investment Authority pocketed HK$5.2bn ($663.5m) on Tuesday from a simultaneous sell-down in Hong Kong-listed Lifestyle International Holdings and Lifestyle China Group.

There was a rare sighting in the Panda bond market this week, as international investors outnumbered their onshore counterparts. The Republic of the Philippines completed its first transaction in the asset class, taking home Rmb1.46bn ($230.8m).

China Xinhua Education Group has raised HK$1.3bn ($166.2m) after pricing its IPO at the middle of guidance, according to a source close to the deal.

Senior banker Chris Marschall has joined Crédit Agricole as its new equity capital markets head for Asia Pacific, as the French bank starts building an ECM business in the region.

Beijing Capital Group debuted in the green bond market on Monday with a $600m-equivalent deal featuring dollars and offshore renminbi (CNH), finding enough buy-side support to tighten pricing by over 20bp on both the tranches.

Shinhan Bank was forced to pay a new issue premium (NIP) to complete its Basel III-compliant tier two deal on Monday, like most other issuers in recent weeks. But the South Korean borrower still managed to price its bond tighter than expected.

UBS is keeping the equity blocks market busy in Asia, launching two deals consecutively in the Philippines and Hong Kong — both as sole bookrunner.

Taiwanese financial conglomerate Shin Kong Financial Holding Co is planning a domestic rights offering, an issuance of global depository receipts (GDR), or a combination of the two to raise capital.

GCL New Energy is opting to use a club route for a $150m loan, mandating Credit Suisse as the sole mandated lead arranger and bookrunner, according to sources.

China’s Qinghai Provincial Investment Group Co was forced to pay up around 75bp in new issue premium to complete a $250m bond on Friday, as investors voiced their scepticism about the low rated issuer.

China’s Gangtai Group Co and Yango Group Co both sold bonds with 1.5 year tenors at the end of last week, catering to the Asian buy-side’s demand for short duration. Their transactions have raised expectations of more short-term issuance from high yield companies.