Northeast Asia

JP Morgan has become the first non-Chinese financial institution to get an official renminbi clearing bank licence, joining Bank of China's New York branch as the second such firm in the US, the People’s Bank of China said on February 13.

Morgan Stanley has appointed Simon Herrmann as head of Asia Pacific financial institutions group and Mohamed Atmani to head the region’s financial sponsors group, according to internal memos seen by GlobalCapital Asia.

Chinese smartphone and laptop maker Lenovo Group has approached lenders in the offshore loan market for a $1bn fundraising.

South Korea’s Ministry of Strategy and Finance (MOSF) has decided to suspend its plan to lower the threshold for capital gains tax on foreign shareholders of local stock.

Ronshine China Holdings became the only Asian issuer to sell a dollar bond this week in the run-up to Chinese New Year. But the company ended up bagging a mere $100m from its tap, despite rumours it was eyeing as much as $225m.

Jiangxi Bank has filed a draft prospectus for its Hong Kong IPO, with the Chinese lender appointing two firms as sponsors.

The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Kexim) printed in Swiss francs on Monday. That was a sign, said bankers in Zurich, that the market is more resilient than others in times of broader volatility, and could welcome more emerging market names in the coming months.

The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Kexim) is plotting its return to the dollar bond market in the first half of this year, but the policy bank has reduced its overall funding target.

Those bankers and investors who hoped for a small burst of activity before Chinese New Year were left disappointed on Monday, when Ronshine China Holdings became the only issuer from Asia ex-Japan to launch a dollar bond.

Sino-Ocean Property Holdings has extended the streak of Panda bonds issued since the start of 2018. The real estate issuer sealed a Rmb3bn ($476.2m) three year deal – its second Panda in two weeks – at the wide end of the price guidance range last Thursday.

China unveils plans to kick start RMB-denominated oil futures next month, the Philippines gets regulatory greenlight for its Panda bond issuance, and foreign ownership of bonds in the interbank bond market rises again in January.

A tightly allocated book helped Huami Corp weather the storm in equity markets, with the New York Stock Exchange-listed company closing 2% higher on its debut.