Americas

A new era has begun in the US, with the swearing in of Joe Biden as president. For America and the rest of the world it is a sea change in leadership style and political substance.

Chinese vape company RLX Technology raised $1.4bn from its US listing this week, pricing the deal above the marketed range after a huge turnout from investors.

Higher rates and execution certainty in the dollar bond market have given investors something to get excited about, with supply from financials in the currency outstripping that in euros so far this year.

Chile tapped bond markets for $4.25bn-equivalent of funding on Tuesday, starting with a 10 year green tap and new long-dated social bond in euros, and then following a similar playbook in US dollars.

Debt capital markets bankers covering Latin America continue to be impressed by the pace and variety of new issuance in January, with Guatemalan lender Banco Industrial the latest to join the primary pipeline.

SK Battery America, a subsidiary of South Korea's SK Innovation Co, found outstanding response for its green dollar bond on Tuesday. The firm was able to tighten pricing by 45bp, with the notes trading even tighter in the secondary market.

The relationship between the US and China, which has faced immense strain during Donald Trump’s presidency, is unlikely to get too much relief under the Biden administration. The biggest losers will be US banks and their capital markets business in Asia.

Cloopen Group Holding, a cloud-based communication provider, is planning to raise at least $100m from a US IPO of American depositary shares (ADS).

Royal Bank of Canada issued a tightly priced €1.25bn 10 year covered bond on Tuesday. While it only attracted just enough demand for it, the long tenor, investor diversification, cost of funding and deal size were positives for the borrower.

Primavera Capital Acquisition Corp, a special purpose acquisition company, is set to launch a $300m IPO on the New York Stock Exchange this week, extending a recent boom in Asia-focused Spacs.

Creditors of Argentine state-owned oil and gas company YPF are fighting for their rights after being asked to participate in a debt exchange that would cause them material losses. But even if bondholders rebuff what appears to be an opportunistic offer, the attempted deal is another bad omen for investors in Argentina.

Chile is looking to debut its social bond framework in the euro market this week with a 20 or 30 year benchmark. The deal will be accompanied by a re-opening of its 0.83% green bonds maturing in July 2031.