Deutsche Bank wins China nod for corporate bonds

Bloomberg

Deutsche Bank AG became the latest foreign bank to be allowed to underwrite China’s corporate bonds as the government opens up the onshore debt market.
The German bank has received approval from the National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors, or NAFMII, to underwrite corporate bonds sold by both onshore and offshore issuers in the interbank market, it said in a statement. A year ago, China started allowing overseas investors to invest via Hong Kong through the bond-connect program in the bigger of China’s two debt markets.
“The ability to help offshore and onshore clients issue primary debt in China provides an important additional facet to our full suite of capabilities” in the country’s fixed-income market, Werner Steinmueller, Deutsche Bank Asia Pacific Chief Executive Officer, said in the release.
China has accelerated the opening of the world’s third-biggest debt market to help stem capital outflows and promote greater use of the yuan. Higher bond yields onshore are attracting foreign investors who boosted their China onshore bond holdings by 162 billion yuan in the first quarter to a record high of 1.36 trillion yuan.
Deutsche Bank said it expects yuan-denominated bond investment flows to reach as much as 5.3 trillion yuan over the next five years, according to the press release.
Citigroup Inc., BNP Paribas SA, HSBC Holdings Plc, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Standard Chartered Plc are also corporate bond underwriters in China’s interbank market.
Deutsche Bank is already licensed in China as a market maker on the interbank market and the bond connect program, and as a bond settlement agent, it said in the press release.

New Asia equities chief
Deutsche Bank AG appointed Richard Chung as head of equities for the Asia-Pacific region, filling a key position as it overhauls its stock business in a bid to revive profit.
Chung, who was previously co-head of equity execution in the region, replaces James Boyle, who resigned this month amid the global restructuring. Two other executives, Paddy Hogan and Marlon Sanchez, were named as co-heads of the institutional clients group for Asia-Pacific equities, according to a company memo.
Deutsche Bank is cutting onshore sales and derivatives coverage in individual markets across Asia-Pacific as part of the revamp of its equities business, a person familiar with the matter said last month. Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing has unveiled significant cuts to the German bank’s equities and corporate finance units, vowing to shed at least 7,000 jobs worldwide.
Hogan will retain his existing responsibilities as head of equities for Japan, the memo showed. Sanchez remains head of hedge fund complex for the region, and head of the institutional clients group for Hong Kong.
Chung has 20 years of experience and spent almost 15 of those trading in Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo, according to the memo. Amy Chang, a Hong Kong-based spokeswoman at the bank, confirmed the contents of the document.
Boyle’s departure came a month after he led a reshuffle in the division to focus on prime finance and electronic equities business. Other recent departures in division included Nick Silver, co-head of equity execution in the region, Carolyn Tan, head of Asian equity sales in Singapore, and Isabella Kwok, head of Hong Kong and China sales.