Citi
Citi’s China business, led by chief executive Christine Lam, delivered Rmb5.95 billion ($871 million) of revenues with Rmb2.07 billion of net profits in 2019.
Leveraging its strong global network and cross-business synergy, Citi China is best positioned to help multinational companies navigate an environment that is often difficult.
Its investment banking business remained top of the game. Citi completed 24 offshore China equity transactions worth a total of $5.24 billion during our awards period, between July 1, 2019, and June 30, 2020, according to Dealogic data. That has lifted its market share to 6.63%, from 4.06% a year ago.
Citi helped Chinese technology firm Alibaba raise HK$88 billion ($11.2 billion) pre-green shoe from its landmark secondary listing in Hong Kong in November 2019.
It was a bookrunner on NetEase’s HK$21.1 billion secondary listing in May this year, and Budweiser Brewing Company Apac’s HK$39.2 billion IPO last September.
It worked on SK E&S’s HK$11.55 billion clean-up block trade in China Gas Holdings, the largest-ever such deal in energy and utilities in Hong Kong, as well as a €1 billion zero coupon deal from Anta Sports Products, which was the biggest euro-denominated convertible bond from Asia.
Citi also maintained a strong performance in the debt capital markets during our awards period. A top bookrunner in Asia, Citi’s strength in offshore China DCM lies largely in investment-grade corporate and financial bonds, a function of its high-quality corporate client base.
It worked on some of the biggest and highest-rated issuance during our awards period, for the China sovereign, for the big four Chinese banks and for state-owned enterprises such as China National Petroleum Corp, China National Offshore Oil Corp and China Petrochemical Corp. Citi was also involved in deals by private companies including Lenovo, and property developers Ronshine China Holdings and Central China Real Estate.
As one of the top advisers for mergers and acquisitions in Asia, Citi worked on $27 billion of China cross-border deals. These included some of the largest and most high-profile M&A transactions, such as the $4.8 billion acquisition of the largest Peruvian power distributor, Luz del Sur, by China Three Gorges Corp’s subsidiary China Yangtze Power.
But what was most impressive this past year was how quickly and effectively Citi reacted as the Covid-19 pandemic posed a threat to its operations in China. In highly uncertain times, Citi actively engaged with its clients – through individual contacts, conference calls and regular market updates.
The corporate banking team stepped up their efforts in serving the financing and other needs for clients including pharmaceutical companies, by lowering loan interest rates and providing emergency financial services. Citi also helped its clients manage their liquidity onshore and offshore through cross-border pooling and foreign debt.