Offshore bond issues gain pace among Chinese firms

Mainland companies looking to raise capital abroad are likely to continue to tap debt markets as Alibaba Group's mega-offering saps liquidity in New York and investors in Hong Kong remain apathetic to mainland listings, industry insiders said.

Concerns over the health of mainland banks and ample liquidity offshore would continue to push mainland firms towards Hong Kong and US dollar loans in the second half of the year, experts added.

The United States market witnessed a slow resurgence in listings by mainland companies in the first half after a series of fraud cases in 2011 dried such initial public offerings to a trickle. Mainland technology firms have been well received by investors in New York this year.

But the trend could come to an end as summer draws to a close. Alibaba is expected to make one of the largest public offerings ever in August and smaller mainland technology firms are reportedly rushing to squeeze into the market before then.

Insiders said the Alibaba deal, which could raise up to US$20 billion, was likely to be as much as New York investors could stomach from the mainland in the second half of the year.