Bank of America

Real estate company China Aoyuan Property Group has become the first issuer in Asia ex-Japan to launch a dollar bond in 2017, marketing a three year on Wednesday.

Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten (BNG) launched the first SSA benchmark of 2017 on Tuesday. While the agency raised €1bn, its success was muted in comparison with the way it opened 2016.

KommuneKredit and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will reopen the dollar market for SSA borrowers on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the EIB is lining up to perform the same service in sterling bonds.

The Hong Kong IPO market has started 2017 with some action as two Chinese issuers unveiled fundraising plans to seek a combined HK$4.2bn ($533.8m).

Equity investors have something new to believe in: fiscal largesse in the US kickstarting global growth. That’s good news for the many companies and banks with capital to raise in 2017 — the trouble is, markets are likely to be as volatile as Donald Trump’s temper. By Jon Hay, additional reporting by Aidan Gregory

Europe’s convertible market is no longer dripping with superlatives as 2017 begins — middling performance and mild outflows have taken out some of the heat. That may be a good thing, as investors may get more of the deals they like: for companies whose credit needs some looking at, but with interesting equity stories. Aidan Gregory and Jon Hay report.

On the surface, equity capital markets are a well-oiled machine, built to run over the rocky ground of unpredictable stockmarkets. Beneath the surface, there is a lot of sweat. Banks are having to staff their teams with less money, but do just as many deals. Investors are under the cosh, too, squeezed by weak performance and the march of passive funds. Jon Hay reports.

The Z5.14bn (€1.16bn) of loans for the leveraged buy-out of Allegro, the Polish online marketplace, have been allocated, with the leads choosing zloty rather than senior or junior euro bonds for the second lien piece.

Indian conglomerate Reliance Group is the latest to file for an infrastructure investment trust listing, announcing plans to raise Rp30bn ($442m).

Four European lenders have turned down a $2bn loan for National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), while local banks are starting to return to secondary markets for the first time in a year — signs that the Middle Eastern loan market could see a different set of banks driving it in 2017. Elly Whittaker reports.

Another piece of next year’s equity capital markets issuance puzzle was turned over today, when Lonza, the Swiss pharmaceutical and chemical company, announced a Sfr3.3bn rights issue to pay for the acquisition of Capsugel from KKR.

Swiss pharmaceutical and biotech ingredients supplier Lonza has secured $5.5bn in funds from Bank of America Merrill Lynch and UBS for the acquisition of US dosage form maker Capsugel, in a financing package that includes a variety of debt and equity products.