Northeast Asia

Two accelerated bookbuilds lit up the Asian market this week as equity capital market bankers foresaw brightening prospects for block trades. As one banker said that term sheets for potential overnight share sales were “flying around”, the end of the summer could usher in a bumper harvest of deals. John Loh reports.

Huarong International Financial Holdings is seeking a HK$1.5bn ($193m) dual tranche loan and has picked a Taiwanese bank to lead the trade.

China Orient Asset Management Corp demonstrated its strength in the bond market this week, pricing a $650m deal off the back of a $4.2bn order book.

China’s Xinyuan Real Estate brought a three year deal to the dollar market on Wednesday, attracting yield-hungry investors with an 8% handle.

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has reprimanded Morgan Stanley Hong Kong Securities over internal control failures, slapping a fine of HK$18.5m ($2.4m) on the US bank.

The launch of China’s cross-border interbank payment system (CIPS) last year was a milestone for the internationalisation of the renminbi. Close to a year on, Bank of China Hong Kong’s general manager for bank-wide operations, Yang Ru Hai, speaks to GlobalRMB on what it takes to improve RMB clearing and what the future holds for clearing banks such as themselves.

The renminbi rejoined the top five of most used payment currencies in the July rankings from Swift, with South Africa seeing considerable growth in renminbi payments in the past year, the organisation said on August 24.

China Orient Asset Management Corp sealed a $650m bond off the back of a $4.2bn order book on Tuesday, taking advantage of a strong market to price its deal well under its peers.

The Hong Kong equity capital market is coming back to life with Jacobson Pharma Corp beginning pre-deal investor education on Wednesday for its up to $150m IPO.

Mizuho has added a new member to its debt syndication team for pan-Asia, with Jennifer Wang starting her new role on Monday.

A S$350m ($259m) loan signed between Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust and a group of lenders is set to go into general syndication.

Hyundai Capital Services got the timing right on its 144A outing on Tuesday, making an opportunistic move before the markets become crowded with South Korean names. Market participants said HCS’s efforts in putting together its trade paid off, with a win-win outcome for both investors and the issuer.