China Power International Development has successfully closed its first renminbi-denominated corporate offshore bond through Standard Chartered.

The Rmb800mn (US$120.2mn) issuance carries a coupon of 3.2%, the tightest level ever achieved for a five-year Rmb bond issued by a Hong Kong listed ‘red chip’ company.

The bond is targeted at institutional investors and is set to mature in 2015.

The offering was oversubscribed by 10 times from the initial amount of CNY600mn.

“We are delighted to be working with Standard Chartered on our inaugural corporate bond in the offshore market. The ability to raise capital in renminbi via an offshore platform has given China Power an alternate and competitive fund-raising channel,” says Li Xiaolin, chairman of China Power.

Sundeep Bhandari, Standard Chartered’s regional head of global markets, northeast Asia, adds: “Being the sole arranger for a prominent Chinese state-owned enterprise demonstrates the bank’s active participation in promoting the development of Rmb offshore bond market.”

“The ability to raise capital in renminbi via an offshore platform has given China Power an alternate fund-raising channel.”

Alongside HSBC, Standard Chartered has held an active focus on the Rmb market since 2008.

Throughout 2010, a number of other banks have announced successful completion of Rmb-denominated transactions.

This includes Deutsche Bank which announced at Sibos 2010 that it had processed its first Rmb cross-border trade-related settlement from Beijing to Hong Kong, and JP Morgan, which in May was granted permission by the Chinese government to perform Rmb trade-settlement.
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