Americas

The volume of euro bond issuance from US companies fell sharply in 2018 compared to recent years. The finger of blame was quickly pointed at Trump’s tax changes, but there were other forces at play. Can the barriers be lifted in time for a better 2019? Nigel Owen reports.

Bond and currency markets rallied on Monday after Mexico’s new president Andrés Manuel López Obrador (Amlo) presented a budget that Fitch said marked a continuation of Mexico’s existing fiscal framework.

Bond market participants mostly welcomed news that Ecuador had signed a loan with China last week, with some stating that the government’s fiscal adjustment left the sovereign’s bonds looking attractive despite a negative outlook from Moody’s.

Regulators agreed to impose a tighter identification regime for southbound trading of Stock Connect, foreign direct investment (FDI) into China dropped for the third month, and the Ministry of Finance (MoF) confirmed temporary import tariff cuts for automobiles from the US.

The dollar market is set to record its first month of zero bank debt issuance on record as borrowers remain on the sidelines amid choppy market conditions.

China has rolled out trade concessions to the United States, signalling a willingness to negotiate before the trade war gets out of control. But it has also increased its rhetoric over the arrest of Huawei’s chief financial officer in Canada.

Goldman Sachs International conducted business with Lars Windhorst, the colourful German financier, despite warnings from its compliance department that he was a high risk counterparty.

NiQuan Energy Trinidad Ltd, the owner of a gas-to-liquids plant in Trinidad and Tobago, held its final conference calls on Thursday and appears to represent the Lat Am DCM market’s last hope of primary activity in 2018, with most bankers now looking towards January.

Mexico City Airport Trust (Mexcat) offered an improved deal to bondholders this week as it seeks to make the documentation changes necessary to allow it to cancel its Texcoco airport project, but analysts said the new government has a long way to go before regaining the trust of markets.

Bondholders were never going to be satisfied with Mexico’s new government after it cancelled the airport project in which they’d invested $6bn. But though the issuer’s tender offer and consent solicitation is unlikely to be the administration’s last squabble with markets, it is still a good sign.

Mexico’s finance ministry showed it was willing to listen to investor concerns with a new improved tender offer from Mexico City Airport Trust (Mexcat), but for some bondholders at least it will not be enough to persuade them to participate.

Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME) gave investors a year-end treat this week with 2018’s last billion-dollar IPO from an Asian issuer. It was paid back with a near 8% jump in its stock price on the first day of trading. But to succeed the firm had to cut its fundraising target and get realistic on pricing. Jonathan Breen reports.