Americas

In mid-May GlobalCapital hosted a specially convened panel of investment bankers, investors and a market infrastructure provider to discuss how capital markets have reacted to the coronavirus crisis and how they might play a role in the recovery of the global economy. The discussion, which took place remotely over Zoom, was the opening panel discussion of the Global Borrowers & Investors Forum, which this year is being brought to you in virtual form via a special digital publication on our website.

Generals, and financial regulators, are always fighting the last war. So it proved when the coronavirus slammed into international markets in mid-March. Many of the tools developed in the 2008 financial crisis were deployed to great effect by central banks. The corners of the financial markets that propagated weakness in 2008 passed the test of 2020. But new risks were thrown up, forcing a new round of improvisation. What lessons will be drawn from the Covid-19 crisis?

Hertz, the US car hire company in Chapter 11 protection, is to offer up to $500m of new stock after receiving approval last week from a bankruptcy court to raise equity, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday.

Ninebot, an electric scooter producer backed by electronics giant Xiaomi Corp, has won approval to raise more than Rmb2bn ($282m) from listing China Depository Receipts on the Star board.

Burning Rock Biotech, a Chinese cancer treatment firm, raised $222.8m from its US listing last Friday. The issuer's stock soared nearly 50% on its debut, after the IPO was priced above the initial guidance.

Bond investors say that Honduras’s established relationship with the IMF should leave it in good stead as it looks to become the lowest rated borrower from Latin America to issue in the coronavirus era.

Bankers hope they can bring several European IPOs to market in the autumn, and that the recent success of a few issuers and generally supportive secondary markets will allow for a busy end to the year. However, chaotic politics in the US are causing concern and bankers are becoming wary of doing deals too close to November's presidential election.

CPPIB Capital rounded off its sterling curve on Friday after only making its debut in the currency in January. The Canadian borrower aims to maintain a regular presence in this market as a result of its long-term investments in the UK.

Peru’s largest financial group, Credicorp, tapped international bond markets for $500m on Wednesday, becoming the first debut issuer from Latin America since the Covid-19 crisis began.

Bond investors and analysts expect Argentina to extend Friday’s restructuring deadline yet again amid continued promising signs that a deal is near, but some warn it is wrong to assume an agreement is a foregone conclusion.

H4, a fintech firm which has received investment from JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Barclays and Linklaters, is giving capital market participants the chance to move document creation and storage into the 21st century, chief executive Joe Seifert tells GlobalCapital.

Ten companies stepped back from the dollar bond market on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve's downbeat assessment of the economy's prospects had spooked investors on Wednesday.