Northeast Asia

Royal Bank of Canada bagged Rmb900m ($136.57m) from its inaugural public offshore renminbi bond on Friday, making it just the third issuer to seal a dim sum bond this year.

Samson Paper raised HK$780m ($100m) from its latest outing to the syndicated loan market, with strong demand lifting the deal from an initial size of HK$570m.

Tianjin Real Estate Group Co raised $100m from a 4.5% bond on Friday, the lone Asian issuer to have priced a transaction.

Net FX sales by Chinese bank are down 75% month-on-month in August, an advisor to the People’s Bank of China urges push for renminbi internationalisation as the currency strengthens, and Portugal hires banks for its first Panda bond issuance.

There was relief all round this week after Hong Kong's financial regulator backed down from a contentious plan to increase its involvement in listing approvals, and also gave the market some much-needed clarity on its role in IPOs, writes Jonathan Breen.

It has been a tough year for Chinese issuers as they battle with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) to get go-aheads for offshore bond sales. But the regulator’s snail-like approval process appears to be crawling to a near standstill ahead of the National Congress of the Communist Party, leaving bankers befuddled about what to expect for the rest of the year. Morgan Davis reports.

Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ cleaned up its position in CIMB Group this week, offloading more than 400m shares in an accelerated bookbuild to raise MR2.55bn ($607m).

The banker lifestyle back in my day, and even now, is one of late nights and early mornings. I’m sceptical of any banker who I meet at the pub on a Friday night who isn’t bleary eyed from lack of sleep during the week. But long hours in the office don’t always mean a productive time at work.

Chinese logistics firm Best, which counts Alibaba Group Holdings among its shareholders, raised $450m from its US IPO this week, chopping the deal by half to get it over the finish line.

Export-Import Bank of Korea decided to woo Singapore dollar bond investors with its latest debt deal, and not only expanded its relationships with local currency accounts but also offered them some welcome diversification.

Investors familiar with Sunshine 100 China Holdings’ credentials shrugged off a recent ratings downgrade to gobble up its new $235m bond, which will allow the company redeem a note coming due imminently.

Postal Savings Bank of China Co launched its highly anticipated additional tier one dollar bond on Thursday, seeking a whopping $7bn from what could be the world’s largest AT1.