Northeast Asia

South Korean firm SK Biopharmaceuticals Co has sent a request for proposals to foreign banks and securities firms as it looks for candidates to lead its IPO, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co raised HK$3.1bn ($396.6m) through an H-share placement on Thursday, its biggest follow-on offering yet.

Hong Kong-listed Sinopec Oilfield Service Corp has hired CICC, Citic CLSA Securities, Deutsche Bank and Guotai Junan to help raise up to HK$6.3bn ($805.7m) in new equity.

Germany's domestic central bank said this week that it would start buying renminbi assets. Andreas Dombret, a member of the board at the Bundesbank, indicated to GlobalRMB that the central bank — like others in the developed markets — would follow the European Central Bank’s small initial allocation to the currency.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group is the latest Japanese bank to market a green bond in euros, with a five year senior trade. Proceeds are earmarked for renewable energy projects.

Crédit Ag’s Sodhi takes global role – Daiwa equity-linked banker exits – Deutsche builds up loans team – Nomura hires DCM banker – Mizuho names CEO – MUFG appoints Philippines head – Russell-Davison joins Amana Bank

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) and Mizuho Bank opened the Panda bond market for Japanese issuers on January 12, with both crossing the finish line on the same day.

Country Garden Holdings wowed the market this week with a HK$23.5bn ($3bn) print in both the equity and equity-linked formats, marking the largest convertible offering from a Chinese property developer.

Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional has sold a $320.8m exchangeable sukuk with Hong Kong-listed Citic Securities as the underlying stock, taking advantage of a rally in the broker’s shares.

A receptive market and generous pricing worked in favour of China’s Concord New Energy Group and Indonesia’s Sawit Sumbermas Sarana (SSMS) this week, as both managed to pull off debut dollar bonds two months after failed attempts. Morgan Davis reports.

Chinese biopharmaceutical company BeiGene wrapped up a follow-on offering of its Nasdaq-listed American Depository Shares on Wednesday, raising a larger than expected $750m, according to a company statement.

South Korean mobile messaging platform Kakao Corp raised $1bn this week from an issue of Global Depository Receipts (GDRs), defying fears it would suffer from its link to a cryptocurrency exchange.