Northeast Asia

Honma Golf priced its Hong Kong IPO near the top of expectations on Thursday, raising HK$1.34bn ($172.7m) for the Japanese maker of premium golf clubs as long-only funds climbed onboard.

Siong Ooi, who until recently was head of the Asia Pacific syndicated and leveraged finance unit at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML), is understood to be heading to Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU) in December, according to multiple sources.

China’s Panda bond market is gaining traction with the National Bank of Canada (NBC) establishing a Rmb5bn ($750m) programme, becoming only the second issuer from the country to seek onshore renminbi.

Hong Kong conglomerate New World Development benefited from a market pick-up on Wednesday, with its strong household name helping it raise $1.2bn from a perpetual non-call five bond.

It has been a busy period for the structured finance community in China with three lenders securitizing a combined Rmb3.28bn ($491m) worth of non-performing loans (NPLs) in the space of a week.

CK Hutchison raised $1.25bn and another €1bn ($1.12bn) on Wednesday, whetting investors’ appetite with a good marketing strategy and wise timing, according to bankers.

Construction equipment maker Doosan Bobcat and Netmarble Games are on track with their respective IPOs, with the former set to become the largest listing in South Korea since 2012.

Unrated HNA Group made a quick return with a $200m bond this week, just one month after its last offering. On the same day, Kawasan Industri Jababeka from Indonesia also priced an exchange offer for its existing 2019s.

Major corporates have been quick to spot the potential of the Formosa market, with names including Apple, Électricité de France and Anheuser-Busch InBev selling multi-billion dollar transactions. Ample liquidity and a savvy investor base means corporate issuance of Formosa bonds is only set to grow. Elliot Wilson reports.

Foreign banks would be remiss to ignore Taiwan’s Formosa market when it comes to bank capital fundraising after the country introduced regulations that allow lenders to sell dollar-denominated tier twos domestically. Yet even though a number of banks have been quick to take advantage, Taiwan will need to consider further relaxations if it wants to attract more names. Tanya Angerer reports.

A range of credits from India, Malaysia and Greater China stormed the Asian debt market on Thursday, vying for investor attention.

In just a few days, the renminbi will be officially included in the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights basket — a move widely seen as a validation of the currency’s internationalisation. But the actual impact of the development on fund flows is expected to be limited, market participants told GlobalRMB.