Bank of America

A flurry of accelerated bookbuilds hit the Hong Kong market on Thursday night as issuers and investors squeeze through the last window for fundraising before companies go into earnings blackout and the Chinese New Year holidays.

German equity capital markets are off to a flying start this year, buoyed by a rally in the DAX and renewed interest in European equities among US investors. There is renewed optimism about deals to come, including several of this year’s largest European IPOs.

The European socially responsible investment corporate bond market has made a rampant start this year, with issuance in the first two weeks already more than 10% of the total issued by companies in European currencies in 2019.

Anta Sports Products made a stellar euro equity-linked debut this week, sealing a €1bn zero-coupon convertible bond at a negative yield. The deal had its share of challenges, but showed what is possible in a market that has seen a change in sentiment recently. Jonathan Breen reports.

Crossover credit CyrusOne, a US real estate investment trust, headed to the euro bond market for a seven year trade on Wednesday. It got chunky demand and tightened its spread by 35bp during execution.

The Carlyle Group, a US-based multinational private equity firm, offloaded its position in China Literature this week through a HK$1.53bn ($196m) overnight block trade.

Anta Sports Products, a Chinese sportswear manufacturer and retailer, had to navigate a number of roadblocks to print a €1bn zero coupon convertible bond to refinance loans in the currency.

Environmentally minded investors piled into green and sustainable corporate bond issues in Europe on Monday, with deals for Energias de Portugal, South Korean steel company Posco and National Grid garnering around €10.3bn of demand.

Italian construction giant Salini Impregilo offered to exchange its 3.75% notes, due in 2021, to new non-call life senior notes, maturing in seven years. The €250m deal is set to be completed by Friday this week with initial price thoughts of 3.875% — indicating that Salini may have lost favour among investors and will have to pay extra to extend maturities.

Hong Kong-listed Anta Sports Products hit the market with a €1bn convertible bond on Monday after the close of business, according to a term sheet seen by GlobalCapital Asia.

Thailand's PTT Exploration and Production Public Co made a quick return to the debt market on Thursday, selling a 10 year bond less than two months after closing a 40 year deal.

A week that started with a panic about the potential for conflict between Iran and the US appeared to end with capital market issuance conditions so good as to be marked “10 out of 10”. As the loan market defied Middle East risk, borrowers and bond bankers are gearing up for a week ahead of huge issuance, while equity bankers are ruing missed opportunities. Sam Kerr, Mariam Meskin and Francesca Young report.