Northeast Asia

Chinese local government financing vehicles (LGFVs) have been one of the key drivers of bond volumes this year as they hit the international market in large numbers. The increasing supply means there is more scrutiny of the underlying risk but the sector looks set for another bumper year in 2017. Addison Gong reports.

BlackRock has been awarded the first Renminbi Qualified Institutional Investor (RQFII) licence in the US this week providing further momentum to America's push in RMB internationalisation.

Shandong Ruyi Technology Group issued its debut international bond on Tuesday, continuing the trickle of year end issuance from China ahead of the expiration of regulatory approvals.

Bank of Communications Financial Leasing opened a new source of funding on Monday with a $300m securitization of loans backed by aircraft assets. Not only was this one of the few internationally marketed structured finance transactions out of Asia, it also marked the return of a rare credit support structure last seen publicly in 2014.

LR Capital Group made its international bond debut on Tuesday with a $150m deal. The transaction was announced with sufficient anchor orders, thanks to an extensive marketing effort by the leads.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, the state-owned oil refiner known as Sinopec, is revisiting plans for a Hong Kong IPO of its retail marketing unit, said bankers close to the matter.

European banks may lose out on the chance to finance one of the largest acquisitions in eastern Europe, after Japanese brewer Asahi won the €7.3bn bid to buy SABMiller’s regional assets. The outcome could mean that only Asahi’s relationship banks get a piece of the action.

The renminbi qualified foreign institutional investor (RQFII) scheme is set to end 2016 on a disappointing note with the combined value of quotas awarded amounting to roughly half of last year’s total.

The Bank for International Settlements’ triannual survey found that the renminbi has risen above other emerging market currencies in trading patterns across spot and derivatives, BIS said in a detailed report on the state of global foreign exchange (FX) markets.

China First Capital Group is looking to raise up to HK$1bn ($128.9m) from a placement of fresh equity, equal to more than 10% of its outstanding stock.

Bank of China has named Ren Deqi and Gao Yingxin as executive directors after the China Banking Regulatory Commission approved their qualifications.

Shandong Ruyi Technology Group and LR Capital Group are marketing their respective dollar transactions, ahead of a two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting starting Wednesday.