Corporate bond issuance to be expanded

    CHINA will continue to expand the volume of corporate bond issuance and raise the ratio of direct financing this year, the top economic planning agency said yesterday.

    The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) will also study issuance of high-risk, high-yield bond products, it said on its website. The People’s Bank of China also said yesterday that China will further open up its domestic interbank bond market while scrapping limits for some medium and long-term investors. The central bank said it would allow more qualified foreign institutions to invest in the domestic interbank bond market.

    Unisplendour ends investment in Western Digital

    WESTERN Digital Corp. said yesterday that Shenzhen-listed Unisplendour Corp. backed out from buying a stake in the hard-disk maker, forcing the U.S. company to cut the price of its proposed offer for rival SanDisk Corp. by 9 percent.

    Unisplendour, a unit of China’s State-backed Tsinghua Holdings Co., said in September it would buy a 15 percent stake in Western Digital for US$3.78 billion. The Chinese company scrapped its investment plan after a decision by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to investigate the deal, Western Digital said. The CFIUS is led by the U.S. Treasury Department and reviews acquisitions of American businesses by foreign investors for security risks.

    China bears retreat after market’s roller-coaster ride

    INVESTORS are scaling back bets against Chinese equities as the nation’s stock market recovers from last year’s plunge amid government efforts to shore up shaky sentiment.

    Short interest in the largest U.S. exchange-traded fund tracking domestic Chinese stocks fell to 4.5 percent of shares outstanding Tuesday, from 12 percent three weeks ago. That’s a one-month low and almost the smallest since January 2015.

    CNPC considers oilfield services IPO

    CHINA National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), the country’s biggest oil and gas producer, plans to spin off its oilfield services business, according to chairman Wang Yilin.

    CNPC is considering an initial public offering (IPO) of the oilfield services business as part of its efforts to streamline and become more efficient, Wang said in a speech at the IHS CERAWeek conference in Houston yesterday. He didn’t provide details on timing or how large of a stake will be spun off.