Americas

Three Latin American companies announced plans this week to issue dollar bonds, as market participants say they are expecting Monday to kick off a hectic September in primary markets as issuers look to get ahead of potential US election volatility.

Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group came to the dollar market with a $2bn trade on Tuesday as it jumped ahead of the September funding rush.

September began with a bang for equity issuance, capped off on Wednesday by a mammoth €2.7bn share sale from Siemens Healthineers. However, the rush of deals is not just being driven by optimism. Bankers fear darker days returning.

Ex-Barclays banker joins Finsbury to develop equity advisory — Laubjerg hired for natural resources at HSBC — Rousseau leaves Deutsche and joins Citi

Fast food franchise operator Yum China Holdings is cooking a multi-billion-dollar secondary offering in Hong Kong. It is the latest deal in a growing trend that bankers expect will bring more US-listed Chinese companies to the exchange by the the end of 2020, writes Jonathan Breen.

Banco Lationamericano de Comercio Exterior (Bladex), the Latin American trade finance bank, began investor calls on Wednesday ahead of its first dollar benchmark in five years.

The top investment banks will achieve substantially higher returns on equity this year, predicts analytics firm Coalition, after revenues in fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) soared in the first half of the year.

Brazilian bank Itaú has hired from the Latin American debt capital markets team of a rival bank to replace its outgoing debt syndicate head.

The sustainability-linked bond market is about to get its second deal. Suzano, the Brazilian pulp and paper company, is preparing to bring a deal linked to its carbon emissions intensity, as foreshadowed by GlobalCapital in February.

Merck, the US pharmaceutical company, launched a chunky €1bn hybrid on Wednesday, as syndicate bankers said they expect even more subordinated corporate debt despite the flurry since returning from the summer break.

Bond bankers covering Latin America say that they expect the September 7 Labor Day holiday in the US to herald the resumption of primary supply after only a handful of the region’s issuers tapped markets in August despite very strong conditions.

Chinese smart electric vehicle maker Nio has raised $1.5bn in fresh equity after increasing its follow-on offering of American Depository Shares (ADS).