China has frozen the market for new equities listings, while Asian debt capital markets (DCM) fees fell 35% year-on-year in the first half of 2015. In the current climate, a career in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) would appear by default to be your best bet within Asian investment banking.
In the longer term, however, Chinese DCM is looking more promising. Another 3 trillion yuan worth of reserve money is expected to flow into China’s bond market over the next three to five years as Beijing relaxes debt-market rules, according to a new report by Deutsche Bank.
While financial market reform in China rarely leads to an immediate pick-up in related jobs and tends to predominately create opportunities for Chinse banks, debt market liberalisation does look likely to benefit foreign banks. China, the world’s third biggest debt market, could see a sharp increase of foreign investor participation in the future, says Deutsche Bank strategist Linan Liu, quoted in the South China Morning Post.
“To meet foreigners’ investment demand over the longer term, we expect China to grow the domestic debt market both in terms of the size, the depth and the liquidity of both cash products and derivatives products market,” Liu said.
Deutsche itself could be one of the banks set to benefit – it ranks third behind HSBC and Standard Chartered in offshore yuan DCM so far this year, according to Dealogic figures.
Meanwhile:
HSBC mulls exit risk of leaving London for Hong Kong. (The Standard)
MAS sets up new Financial Centre Advisory Panel. (Business Times)
SGX’s fiscal year profit rises 9% as income from derivatives soar. (Channel News Asia)
CIMB exec’s departure adds to clouds over sukuk sales. (Business Times)
BNP Paribas picks new head of Vietnam. (Global Capital)
As China’s stock market boils, yuan will stay cool. (Wall Street Journal)
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