One side-effect of China’s equity market boom has been to reroute money away from the dim sum bond market, where issuance has halved this year.
In the first five months of the year, the total raised through offshore renminbi debt — known as dim sum bonds — has dropped to $7.6bn, according to Dealogic, compared with $15bn during the same period in 2014. Issuance from Chinese companies has fallen to just $1.3bn, the lowest in five years and down from $12.5bn last year.
Demand for renminbi debt has been dented in part by the rally in Chinese shares. Since the launch of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect last November, investors in Hong Kong have diverted Rmb148bn ($23.8bn) into mainland-listed equities, leaching cash away from credit markets. Local banks have had to fight for renminbi deposits, causing interest rates to rise.