Macau SAR

Australian billionaire James Packer unwound the last of his position in a Macau joint venture with Hong Kong scion Lawrence Ho this week. Packer raked in $1.2bn from an unusually structured deal that included a $337m block trade, capturing the attention of Asian and US investors. Jonathan Breen reports.

Australian billionaire James Packer has cashed in his remaining stake in his Macau joint venture with Hong Kong gaming tycoon Lawrence Ho, netting $1.2bn in the process.

In this round-up, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (Safe) says it expects China’s foreign reserves to grow gradually despite global volatilities, PBoC’s dollar fix remains pretty much unchanged from the previous day and the Shanghai Free Trade Zone will open up the financial sector to more foreign investment.

Things kicked off with a weaker dollar fix by PBoC, while China’s banking authority got a new chairman last week, and the securities regulator said it will increase foreign ownership limits for China brokerage ventures.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) released one of the most disappointing sets of RMB data last week when it revealed that the city’s renminbi deposits had plunged 12.9% in December 2016 to Rmb546.7bn ($79.5bn).

Australian casino tycoon James Packer sold his stake in Melco Crown Entertainment, his Asian joint venture with Hong Kong magnate Stanley Ho, in a $669.9m overnight bookbuild on Thursday.

Studio City Company, which runs a gambling and entertainment resort in Macau, hit the jackpot on Tuesday as US investors poured money into both tranches of the company’s new bond.

The Asian debt market stepped up a gear Tuesday with a number of new launches and mandates, as issuers navigate the volatility and try to wrap up their fundraisings before key holidays and the end of the year.

Studio City, Shandong Ruyi Technology Group Co, Yanlord Land (HK) and Chengdu Xingcheng Investment Group Co are wooing investors for their respective Reg S bonds. Meanwhile, Shaanxi Xixian New Area Fengxi New City Development & Construction will go on a non-deal roadshow.

In this round-up, the Shanghai Free Trade Zone introduces electronic warrants to facilitate cross-border payments for commodity companies, Macau gets high level backing for its renminbi ambitions and new RQFII quotas for Thailand and Luxembourg. Plus, a recap of our coverage this week.

September has been my favourite month this year, as I managed to enjoy some peace and quiet at Captain’s Bar, thanks to all the young’uns working like mad to push out deals. And when I say young, I mean some are really, unbelievably, young — at least judging by their looks.

In this round-up, South Korea’s RMB deposits drop to near-zero, South African rand starts direct trading with RMB, and BlackRock launches its first US-listed physical A-shares fund. Plus, a recap of GlobalRMB’s coverage this week.