China generates top 2013 loan volume in APAC

The Chinese mainland and Hong Kong's 2013 loan volume represented 42 percent of the loan market in the Asia-Pacific region, with China alone doubling last year's volume, according to new data.

The loan volume in the mainland reached a record $116.9 billion, and Hong Kong's loan volume increased by 86 percent over last year, reaching $79.2 billion, according to Thomson Reuters' 2013 Asia Pacific Syndicated Loan Review. Hong Kong loans were driven by "China-linked companies' offshore borrowing," it said.

The Chinese mainland and Hong Kong were numbers 1 and 3 respectively in loan volume among the top 10 Asia-Pacific economies (excluding Japan). The other eight ranked by billions of dollars were Australia ($99.9), Singapore ($40.2), Taiwan ($30.9), India ($25), South Korea ($15.1), Indonesia ($12.7), New Zealand ($12.3), and Thailand ($8.6), according to Thomson Reuters.

Total loan volume in the APAC region reached $461.9 billion in 2013, an all-time high, Thomson Reuters said. The loans came via 1,289 deals, which is up from the 1,024 deals completed in 2012 that generated $306.6 billion in loans.

Financing for mergers and acquisitions made up 10 percent of the APAC region's loan volume, up 63 percent over the last year, reaching $46.2 billion, according to the data.

Bank of China, the fourth-largest lender in China by assets, is the top lender in the APAC region, taking 6.9 percent market share and arranging 214 deals. According to the bank's first three quarter results released at the end of October, domestic customer loans reached $5.49 trillion yuan ($905.7 billion), with loans for strategic emerging industries and agriculture increasing 22.33 percent and 13.84 percent year-on-year, respectively. Medium-sized enterprise loans grew by 15.3 percent and domestic corporate loans increased by 1.8 percent year-on-year.

China Development Bank took second place at 6.5 percent market share, completing 56 deals. ANZ, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and Westpac Banking Corp round out Thomson Reuter's list of top five financial institutions taking the highest loan volume market share in the APAC region in 2013. China Construction Bank and HSBC took the 8th and 10th spots, respectively.

According to Thomson Reuter's third-quarter review of global syndicated loans released in September, Alibaba Group's $8 billion loan in July was the largest deal in Asia (excluding Japan and Australia) for the first three quarters of the year. Thomson Reuters analysts said the loan will be used to refinance its $4 billion loan from 2012 and fund a share buyback deal with Yahoo Inc.

A total of 22 lenders participated in Alibaba's loan in preparation for its initial public offering, including Bank of China, Wing Lung Bank, China Citic Bank International Ltd, and Ping An Bank, the Wall Street Journal reported. The e-commerce giant has yet to launch its IPO.

CNOOC Canada Holding Ltd's $6 billion syndicated loan deal was the second-largest Chinese loan in Asia for the first three quarters of the year, according to the data. The Chinese-owned oil company acquired Canadian oil and gas company Nexen Inc earlier in February for $15.1 billion.

amyhe@chinadailyusa.com