Source: Reuters/David Gray Actors wearing traditional costumes march through a small door as they prepare to take part in an ancient Qing Dynasty ceremony during the opening of the temple fair at Ditan Park in Beijing China’s recent interest-rate cut has resulted in a promising loan pipeline, volume growth for the second quarter, as well as reduced pricing on both domestic and foreign currency loans. The first six months of the current year represent the best first half since 2009 for China onsh

Source: Reuters/Joe Chan Soldiers wearing traditional costumes make parachute jump performances during a rehearsal near an airport on the outskirts of Beijing Issuance from PRC companies in the US-dollar public offshore bond markets has come a long way in the last decade. From just US$872m of bonds in 2002, the country now accounts for the biggest percentage of the US-dollar public offshore Asian market, averaging an annual total of US$14.5bn over the past three years, according to data from Tho

Source: Reuters/Nir Elias A worker paints a road sign inside a residential compound in the centre of Shanghai China and Taiwan, the self-governed and democratic archipelago that Beijing claims as its own, do not appear to be the closest of allies. The mainland has an estimated 1,500 missiles aimed at Taiwan. For their part, Taiwanese residents regularly have to participate in air-raid drills, standing outside their schools, homes and offices as sirens wail, reminding them that peaceful relations

Source: Reuters/David Gray A recyclable materials collector stands in front of her overloaded tricycle on a main street in central Beijing Internet companies in China are finding it harder than ever to go public in the US. Only one firm from the sector has listed there since late last August. The Facebook fiasco, where the world’s biggest IPO of 2012 plunged as much as 33% below its IPO price, has further dampened any hopes for a re-emergence of Chinese internet listings in the US. Chinese inter

Source: Reuters/Supri Supri A man rides a bicycle in a bus lane next to a morning rush hour traffic jam in Jakarta China’s efforts to develop its domestic capital markets into a real alternative to bank funding have already fuelled the rapid growth of onshore bonds and spawned countless new products. There are signs, however, that the pace of progress may be about to accelerate even further. For the first time, China’s three bond market regulators are working together to help companies meet thei

Source: Reuters A man films a gold-plated Infiniti G37 at a jewelry store in Nanjing, The IPO market in China has been undergoing an extensive overhaul since the beginning of the year in a move to promote market-based pricing. The effort to restore confidence in China’s domestic stock market is paying off and a couple of positive signs are already on the board. In the China market, the “three highs” phenomenon – high PE ratios, high IPO prices and high fundraising sizes – has previously drawn he

Source: Reuters A zookeeper feeds a hippopotamus with forage wrapped in the shape of a rice dumpling (zongzi) to celebrate the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival at a wildlife zoo in Shenzhen When China issued the first sovereign bond in US dollars in the international markets two decades ago, the country needed a lot of capital to build its economy. Today, the purpose of the Ministry of Finance’s latest offshore fundraising is very different – helping the renminbi become an international currency in

Source: Reuters/Jason Lee The Long March II-F rocket loaded with Shenzhou-9 manned spacecraft carrying Chinese astronauts Jing Haipeng, Liu Wang and Liu Yang lifts off from the launch pad in the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center Looking back at this publication 12 months ago, it’s striking how little has changed. This time last year, concerns over China’s slowing economic growth were pushing investors to the sidelines. Analysts were worried that a hard landing for the economy would roil global mar