Americas

Central American development bank Cabei will return to US bond markets for the first time since 2012 after a better than expected two notch upgrade from S&P left it keen to enter the realm of true SSAs, said its CFO. But the issuer will be doing so without Fitch, after deciding the rating agency’s methodology did not reflect its new business model.

In this round-up, Huawei filed a lawsuit against the US government, China’s foreign reserves rose for the fourth month, and the International Monetary Fund can now invest in Chinese domestic bonds and stocks

Some EM bond investors were hopeful that Friday would see the concessionaire operating Quito’s new airport break a hiatus of more than three weeks in Latin American new issues, despite not pricing as scheduled on Thursday.

Government-owned Costa Rican lender Banco Nacional de Costa Rica (BNCR) is looking to buy back a portion of its shortest-dated international bond.

Caribbean cable company Digicel returned to the bond markets on Thursday with a senior secured bond deal that allows it to repay funds drawn down on its revolving credit facility, as well as its bank term loan A.

Markets have rallied in Europe and the US so far this year across equities and credit, but participants are feeling gloomy about the prospects for investment banks' revenues in the forthcoming first quarter results.

Firms can rake in more profit and investment through having more gender diversity in their workforce, according to two separate studies from the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and fintech firm Broadridge Financial Solutions.

The dollar bond market enjoyed another bumper week with tight pricing and heavy supply, but questions remain over how long a dovish Federal Reserve can stave off a downturn.

Lebanese investment banker Ziad Hayek set out his programme for running the World Bank this week, as the process for selecting the president of the world’s biggest development lender fell into a mire of confusion. In an interview with GlobalCapital, Hayek said his pitch to World Bank shareholders focused on migration, infrastructure finance, climate change, and co-operation with China. By Phil Thornton.

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has appointed Pablo Hernández de Cos, governor of the Bank of Spain, as its new chair. He takes over as the committee looks to reflect on post-crisis regulation.

Futu Holdings, the parent of Hong Kong-based Futu Securities, has pulled off the first IPO by a Chinese online brokerage. The company was on track to raise $160m on Thursday after making a late change to the deal, cutting the size of its float and adding a private placement to an international fund. Jonathan Breen reports.

Singapore-based internet company Sea has raised $1.35bn after boosting the size of a follow-on offering of American Depository Shares (ADS).