China Construction Bank

In this round-up, Malaysia opens RMB qualified foreign institutional investor (RQFII) applications, Macau launches a RMB real time gross settlement (RTGS) payment system, China Construction Bank (CCB) will join the new London silver fix, and the Singapore Exchange (SGX) reported a strong start to RMB currency futures trading in 2016. Plus, a recap of GlobalRMB's top stories this week.

Russian gas company Gazprom has raised €2bn ($2.2bn) from Bank of China, marking its largest fundraising directly from a single financial institution and its first bilateral loan from a Chinese lender.

China Development Bank (CDB) reopened a dual-currency transaction on Wednesday, bagging a $2bn equivalent from the euro and dollar tap. With strong demand from onshore investors, the policy lender was able to cut cost while raising more than the size of the original bond.

China’s Haier Group is expected to use bank loans to fund up to $3.3bn of its forthcoming $5.4bn acquisition of US-based GE Appliances. Bankers have predicted an onshore China takeout, but the fundraising structure has not yet been disclosed, reports Shruti Chaturvedi.

Chinese company Haier has enlisted three lenders to fund its $5.4bn acquisition of Kentucky headquartered GE Appliances.

In a starved Russian loan market peppered with asset backed loans, three Chinese banks have lent a highly prized unsecured credit facility of Rmb4.8bn ($730m) to Russian mining company Norilsk Nickel. It is the latest sign of the increasing importance of Chinese money in a Russian economy increasingly squeezed by international sanctions and falling oil prices. Elly Whittaker reports.

A trio of Chinese companies are seeking to list in Hong Kong, having filed draft prospectuses with the city’s stock exchange on Tuesday.

China Construction Bank broke the pricing record for the Asian additional tier one (AT1) sector this week, raising $3.05bn with a headline coupon of just 4.65%. Although this was the lowest coupon ever achieved by an Asian bank in the AT1 market, investors were more than happy to pour into the trade.

China Nuclear Engineering Group Corporation (CNEC) is struggling to get its debut dim sum offering off the ground. The company has set its sights on a deal before the end of the year, but sources say the management’s unrealistic pricing targets are not going down well with investors.

China Construction Bank (CCB) has launched what is most likely to be the last high profile bond of the year in Asia, opening books for a dollar-denominated additional tier one offering on December 9.

Asia’s debt capital market is set to end the year on a bumper note, with China Construction Bank (CCB) poised to launch a dollar-denominated additional tier one trade next week.

Baosteel Hong Kong Investment Co sold a $500m exchangeable bond this week at terms that were aggressive even at the bottom end. Bankers clashed over whether the mandate process, conducted like an accelerated bookbuild, was good for the market, writes John Loh.