Competition between Hong Kong and Singapore is nothing new. But it reared its head again last week as the South China Morning Post trumpeted that “Hong Kong widens yuan hub lead over Singapore”. The occasion was Hopewell Highway Infrastructure’s decision to launch a Rmb386.4 million ($61.8 million) share placement in Hong Kong. It turned out to be a “hot” offering, points out IFR, with orders filled in just half an hour. It also marked the second renminbi-denominated equity offering in Hong Kong – last year the Hui Xian REIT launched an IPO in the Chinese currency in the territory.
But Singapore – which also aspires to be a yuan hub (see our Focus issue, Ready for the RMB) – had reckoned on evening up the IPO tally. It was scheduled to host the listing of the Dynasty REIT, sponsored by real estate fund manager ARA Asset, for as much as $1 billion in a dual currency transaction that included a renminbi component. However, the deal was recently postponed due to poor market conditions, leading the crowing SCMP to declare: “Hong Kong 2 Singapore 0”.
© ChinTell Ltd. All rights reserved.
Sponsored by HSBC.
The Week in China website and the weekly magazine publications are owned
and maintained by ChinTell Limited, Hong Kong. Neither HSBC nor any member of the HSBC group of companies ("HSBC") endorses the contents and/or is
involved in selecting, creating or editing the contents of the Week in China website or the Week in China magazine. The views expressed in these
publications are solely the views of ChinTell Limited and do not necessarily reflect the views or investment ideas of HSBC. No responsibility will
therefore be assumed by HSBC for the contents of these publications or for the errors or omissions therein.
Download Apps