Northeast Asia

Investors interested in Chinese property bonds had plenty to choose from this week. Eight high yield real estate names raised more than $2.4bn in dollar bonds, with yields ranging from low-6% to over 10%.

China's banking watchdog has scrapped approval requirements for foreign banks on a series of business lines, including for launching so-called ‘offshore wealth management services’. But banks will not benefit from the change unless China also relaxes its tight grip in other areas, such as control on capital flows, lawyers and analysts said this week.

Qatar National Bank (QNB) kept the momentum in the offshore renminbi bond market going with a new issuance on Tuesday, showing there is still appetite for the currency.

Four of the six deals in the primary market in Asia on Tuesday were from Chinese real estate companies. But despite the inevitable competitive dynamics between the trades, Modern Land (China) Co, Yuzhou Properties Company, Guorui Properties and Tahoe Group Co were all able to meet their targets.

Hong Kong-listed LK Technology Holdings has divvied up its latest borrowing among 14 lenders.

Bank of China Macau has approached lenders for a financing of up to $500m, with details about the loan going to a limited number of banks, said sources.

Bond investors are embracing Korean Air Lines Co (KAL) after its successful debt outing in June last year. In its $300m comeback deal on Tuesday, the company managed to find demand from a group of new investors.

A member of the ECM syndicate team at BOC International in Hong Kong has left to join Goldman Sachs, according to sources close to the move.

China’s startling transformation continued last year, with the opening up the domestic bond market to foreign investors, the rise in renminbi volatility, and an all-important party meeting that cemented the power of Xi Jinping. Over the course of four in-depth articles, GlobalRMB will examine the key themes that will define this transformation in 2018. First up: the move to bring more foreign bond investors into the country.

China may seem out of the woods, given the strong GDP growth recorded in 2017 and the coordinated crackdown on leverage in its financial system, but the true reckoning has yet to come, leading China economist Michael Pettis tells GlobalRMB.

Chinese video streaming platform iQiyi filed a draft IPO prospectus with the US market regulator on Tuesday. It is aiming to raise up to $1.5bn from its listing this year.

Impro Precision Industries is seeking a Hong Kong listing with Morgan Stanley as the left lead and a sponsor alongside BOC International.