Bank of China
Bank of China stands above all rivals in terms of cross-border issuance of bonds. According to Bloomberg, the bank has led Chinese offshore bond issuance market in the last two years: it had 130 offshore bond issues and a market share of 9.26% in 2016, and 232 bond issues and a market share of 7% in 2017. In the first six months of this year, the bank underwrote 126 Chinese offshore bonds, to give it a market share of 7%.
The bonds often help Bank of China’s clients achieve specific objectives. For instance, the bank has served as a fund-raising platform for many Chinese groups seeking offshore acquisitions.
One deal that stands out from last year was when the bank, led by chairman and president Chen Siqing, helped state-owned chemicals giant ChemChina succeed in the largest offshore acquisition ever by a Chinese investor. The bank, through its offshore unit BOCI, provided about half the $20 billion fund-raising – primarily through the sale of perpetual bonds – to help the Beijing-based chemical manufacturer complete the $43 billion takeover of Swiss seeds conglomerate Syngenta through the sale of two senior notes, the first raising $4.95 billion and the second raising €1.2 billion.
Another example is Qingdao-based home appliance manufacturer Haier Group. The bank helped the group to raise $1 billion through the sale of a bond with a five-year tenor last year, offering a coupon of 3.875%. The bond issue, the first by Haier in offshore markets, will help the company expand its global operations.