South Korea to issue sovereign ‘Panda’ bonds

    SOUTH KOREA has set Dec. 15 as the date it will issue 3 billion yuan (US$467.45 million) worth of yuan-denominated bonds in the Shanghai-based Chinese interbank market, South Korea said yesterday.

    In doing so, South Korea will become the first foreign country to issue sovereign “Panda” bonds in China. “Panda” bonds are debt securities issued in China in the yuan currency by non-residents. A bookbuilding of the three-year “Panda” bonds will be conducted Dec. 15, payment will be made Dec. 16 and the bonds will be listed on the Chinese interbank market Dec. 17, South Korea said in a statement published by the Shanghai Clearing House, China’s main bond clearer.

    Anbang Insurance owns 5% stake in Vanke

    BEIJING-BASED insurer Anbang Insurance Group Co. has accumulated a 5 percent stake in China Vanke Co., the world’s largest residential property developer by revenue, in its latest investment in the sector.

    The insurer has acquired a total of 552.5 million A shares in the developer, Shenzhen-based China Vanke said yesterday. Anbang, which is known for buying New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel in late 2014, also owns stakes in lenders such as China Minsheng Banking Corp., China Merchants Bank Co. and property companies Gemdale Corp. and Financial Street Holding Co.

    Lansing Trade sells stake to New Hope Liuhe

    U.S. grains and energy merchant Lansing Trade Group sold a 20 percent stake of its business to Chinese animal feed maker and meat processor New Hope Liuhe Co., a Lansing official said yesterday.

    The cash deal closed Friday, said Tom Carew, Lansing Trade Group executive vice president. He declined to provide financial terms. New Hope Liuhe said in October it was setting up a wholly owned U.S.-based subsidiary, which would invest US$127.50 million to acquire a 20 percent stake in a U.S. trading group.

    CCB to sell offshore preference shares

    CHINA Construction Bank Corp. (CCB) is seeking to raise up to 20 billion yuan (US$3.1 billion) via a sale of offshore U.S. dollar-denominated preference shares to replenish its capital.

    The Beijing-based lender, which is rated A1 by Moody’s, A by both Standard & Poor’s and Fitch, is marketing the Basel III-compliant Additional Tier 1 capital preference shares to yield around 4.85 percent.