ICBC
In the 12 months to May this year ICBC was the market leader in underwriting a total of 1,283 debt financing instruments, with a combined valuation of Rmb1.22 trillion ($179 billion), accounting for 12% of the market, according to Wind Information, China’s leading market data services provider.
Based in Beijing and led by chairman Yi Huiman, ICBC helps with financing for the likes of China’s largest asset owners; chief among them is Central Huijin Investment, which represents the central government in majority stakes of the nation’s largest financial institutions, among them ICBC itself.
Last year, the bank helped Huijin issue Rmb15 billion-worth of bonds for acquisitions. On top of that it helped many other leading financial institutions raise funds for acquisitions, capital expansions or debt restructuring through bond sales, including Rmb22 billion for medium-sized rival China Everbright Bank, Rmb30 billion for leading small enterprises lender China Minsheng Bank and Rmb26 billion for distressed assets manager Cinda Asset Management.
At the same time, ICBC is recognized as a market leader in one of China’s newest debt capital market asset classes, green bonds. In the last year, the bank led the market by issuing a total of seven green bonds, with a total value of Rmb45 billion.
The bank is also a sales leader in helping many global financial institutions to tap China’s domestic bond markets. In the past year, ICBC underwrote a total of 20 panda bonds, raising some Rmb37 billion for clients, among them Japanese financial institutions Mizuho Bank and Mitsubishi Tokyo UFJ Bank, which were the first from Japan to tap China’s domestic bond markets.
Mizuho raised Rmb500 million through the panda bonds, which had a three-year tenor and a coupon of 5.3%.
The bank is also a leader in asset-backed securities. Last year, it successfully issued 15 ABS notes with a total value of Rmb94 billion.