HSBC
HSBC already has the largest branch network in China among foreign banks, with over 170 outlets in more than 50 cities, but it continues to expand on the mainland. In December last year, it launched HSBC Qianhai Securities, the first securities joint venture in mainland China to be majority-owned by any international bank.
HSBC, led by the group’s chief executive John Flint, continues to be recognized as the leading bank for international renminbi products and services, ranking first in Bloomberg’s offshore renminbi bond underwriting league table in 2017 with a 28% market share.
HSBC also has the largest share, at 53%, of approved quota for the renminbi qualified foreign institutional investor (QFII) custodian business.
The bank was appointed one of the first market makers for Bond Connect, a bond trading link between mainland China and Hong Kong that began last year, and it completed its first deal in July 2017. Since then, HSBC has also acted as one of the underwriters for the Agricultural Development Bank of China in its first public issue of policy financial bonds to both local and foreign investors – the first transaction of its kind via Bond Connect.
In October 2017, Chinese regulators granted HSBC a new bond underwriting licence for the sale of panda bonds, making it the first foreign bank to be allowed to offer offshore corporate clients greater access to China’s capital markets.
Last year in November, HSBC was the joint bookrunner and joint lead manager for a deal by China Development Bank, the nation’s leading policy bank. The €1 billion bond issue came with a four-year tenor and a coupon of 0.485%. During the same month, HSBC helped the Export-Import Bank of China to raise €1 billion through the sale of a bond with a tenor of 5.5 years and a coupon rate of 0.75%. That particular sale was the largest and longest-ever euro tranche offer by China Exim Bank.
The bank has been active in M&A advisory work too. Last November, it was an adviser to China’s largest hypermarket operator, Sun Art Retail Group, when it sold a 36% stake to Taobao China Holdings, a subsidiary of Alibaba