Northeast Asia

The upcoming launch of the second phase of China's cross-border interbank payment system (CIPS) is understood to be delaying the launch of clearing activities in the recently established New York RMB hub, GlobalRMB has learned.

Panda bonds are poised to make a rare appearance on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, with red chip firm Shenzhen International Holdings announcing on Wednesday that its Rmb5bn ($727m) programme has been approved by the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

The Hong Kong government stretched its Islamic finance benchmark and ambitions on Tuesday, securing a $1bn 10 year deal with the first dollar sovereign sukuk of the year.

South Korea’s Lotte Chemical Corp has netted W215.0bn ($187.9m) after pricing a block sale of treasury shares near the middle of guidance, according to a term sheet seen by GlobalCapital Asia.

Citic snatched $1.25bn from an aggressively priced dual-tranche transaction on Tuesday, its second bond outing since a restructuring that saw it gain investment grade status.

Korea Development Bank (KDB) has become the latest name from South Korea to join the debt issuance party, sealing a triple tranche offering with two floating rate tranches, and finding $4bn of demand for its deal.

Minsheng Financial Leasing has returned to the debt market for a $200m offshore loan that is led by three mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners.

China Lodging Group has enlisted a single bank to help it arrange a $500m financing for the acquisition of hotels in the Mainland.

China YuHua Education Corp has scooped up HK$1.5bn ($198.1m) after seeing a global turnout of investors for its IPO, according to a banker close to the deal.

The Asia debt market saw a fresh rush of dollar deals on Wednesday, with property names China Jinmao Holdings Group and Xinhu Zhongbao, as well as Singapore’s United Overseas Bank launching new deals.

Lotte Chemical Corp is looking to raise up to W223.7bn ($195.0m) through the sale of a block of treasury shares, according to a banker familiar with the matter.

Kingboard Laminates Holdings is looking to refinance two loans with a single HK$6bn ($773m) facility, and is narrowing the all-in pricing by about 80bp.