Bank of America

With spring finally arriving in London, public sector bankers were warming up for an expected burst of dollar issuance as the second quarter kicks in next week — with a full rainbow of maturities available for the first time since the summer, writes Craig McGlashan.

A slew of unusual CEEMEA issuers this week announced plans to meet with investors: Global Ports Investments, Kenya, Ahli Bank Qatar and Alternatifbank. Some are specified as non-deal meetings while others are focussed on specific deals.

China Logistics Property Holdings Co, which filed for a Hong Kong listing on Thursday, has tapped Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank as joint sponsors for the transaction.

The International Finance Corporation proved that there is demand for the tightest of issuers at the 10 year part of the dollar curve, after it printed a $700m April 2026 global green bond on Wednesday.

Western Digital, the US maker of computer hard drives, has widened pricing on its $9.5bn loan package to entice reluctant lenders. The loan will back Western Digital’s $17bn acquisition of SanDisk.

Issuers have nipped into the euro market after Easter with some canny deals. Meanwhile the dollar market was watching US Federal Reserve chairperson, Janet Yellen, who on Tuesday said that the possibility of further rate hikes was “not a plan set in stone”.

Brazilian pulp producer Eldorado Brasil Celulose is plotting a potential debut cross-border bond that investors believe could receive a decent reception — if the company waits long enough to issue.

Chinese hospital owner Zhongmei Healthcare Group has picked the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for an upcoming IPO, joining a handful of other names from the sector that are also vying for a listing.

Kia Motors Corp is ready to hit the road for a 144A/Reg S bond that could come to the market as early as mid April.

The Japan Finance Organisation for Municipalities picked banks on Tuesday for a forthcoming dollar deal, while bankers said that the dollar market is likely to shrug off any announcements from a speech by the US Federal Reserve chair later on Tuesday.

The International Finance Corporation is set to extend its green — and conventional — curve with its first 10 year dollar syndication for over 20 years, in what bankers suggest will be the strongest indicator so far for the level of demand returning to the tenor.

A $400m loan for Turkish industrial holding company Borusan is very near completion. The deal is a rare Turkish corporate syndicated loan but many of the lenders are still domestic banks, according to one banker.