Americas

Argentine corporate bonds sold off sharply on Wednesday after the central bank sought to dictate how the issuers could refinance their dollar debt as part of an escalation of currency controls.

Brazilian foods company BRF fetched a 10 times oversubscribed order book on its way to a 30-year benchmark on Wednesday as appetite for Latin American risk remains irrepressible.

Fédération des Caisses Desjardins du Québec (CCDJ) mandated leads on Wednesday for a five year and Compagnie de Financement Foncier (CFF) mandated leads for a 10 year deal, to take advantage of exceptionally strong market conditions with both deals likely to be launched on Thursday.

It has already been another busy week for European block trades with several accelerated deals priced on Tuesday evening. Bankers say they expect the rush to continue sellers look to shift as much paper as possible before November's US election.

Chinese hospitality company Huazhu Group is on track to raise around HK$6.06bn ($781.8m) from its secondary offering in Hong Kong, after sending price guidance to investors.

Mainland-based logistics company ZTO Express (Cayman) has hit the road with its Hong Kong secondary offering, with two other Chinese US-listed firms hot on its heels.

Latin American development bank Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF) will continue to monitor its members’ needs before determining how much funding it has left to raise in 2020, but has covered the majority of its financing needs after increasing the size of a dollar benchmark, priced on Wednesday.

BBVA’s Mexican subsidiary, Bancomer, on Tuesday provided one of the clearest examples yet of the attractiveness of international bond markets for Latin American borrowers as it notched the lowest ever coupon on a dollar deal from a bank from the region.

South America’s largest corn-based ethanol producer, FS Agrisolutions Indústria de Biocombustíveis (FS), will look to become the latest Latin American borrower to sell a sustainability-themed bond as it proposes a green format for its international market debut.

Gonzalo García and Anthony Gutman have been named as co-heads of the investment banking division for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Goldman Sachs. They take on what is a new position.

Altice France is marketing a €900m equivalent eight year bond across dollars and euros, coming hot on the heels of Friday’s announcement that Patrick Drahi, the billionaire owner of the telecoms group, was trying to take Altice Europe private.

Morningstar, the US investment research firm, is marketing US private placements for the first time in its 26 year history, according to several sources familiar with the situation.