Banks

MTN bankers are tipping Formosa and senior non-preferred debt for big things in 2020. Both markets, along with MTNs as a whole, have had an underwhelming year as issuance failed to live up to the promise of a busy 2018.

Lenovo Group, one of the world’s largest computer and electronics makers, lost a long time financing partner when IBM decided to close its factoring operation for hardware equipment manufacturers in February, GlobalCapital can reveal. But Lenovo moved fast to replace this with one of the largest trade receivables securitizations ever signed. The $3bn deal included selling junior notes to three investors to maintain full off balance sheet treatment for the assets and debt.

Telefónica Deutschland has signed a €750m environmental, social and governance-linked (ESG) loan, as sustainability financing continues to gain a foothold in a country that has until now been slow to take up the structure.

UK fund Sequoia Economic Infrastructure Fund, which invests in infrastructure debt, has increased its multi-currency revolver for the second time since May, enlarging it from £200m to £280m.

Big European investment banks pivoted towards the Americas during 2019 in an attempt to boost revenues and position themselves for the next downturn, writes David Rothnie. With large M&A across the industry still off the table, banks are finding scale through joint ventures and alliances.

The average number of primary dealerships in the European Union has dropped to equal the lowest on record, according the Association for Financial Markets in Europe’s latest government bond data report.

Hong Kong-based personal loan provider PrimeCredit has issued $200m of asset backed securities, making it the first public term securitization in Hong Kong in more than a decade.

Debt bankers and investors focused on Indonesia are eager to put the year behind them, after elections and a big dollar bond default dented issuance volumes. But they are optimistic about 2020, believing that the southeast Asian country could live up to its potential as a hotbed of high yield borrowing. Morgan Davis reports.

Environmental protection services provider Shenzhen Leoking Environmental Group has set the ball rolling for a Hong Kong listing, having filed draft documents with the bourse.

Ucommune Group Holdings, a shared work-space provider similar to US firm WeWork, is planning to list on the New York Stock Exchange, according to a filing with the US regulator.

GlobalCapital China, previously GlobalRMB, is pleased to announce the winners of its annual capital markets awards, honouring the banks, companies and individuals that have made the biggest contribution to bridging the gap between China’s markets and the rest of the world. In part one of the awards, we reveal the most impressive issuers in the FIG, corporate and SSA categories.

A €200m bond add-on for UK-based car maker Jaguar Land Rover, announced on Tuesday, follows €800m of unsecured notes issued in mid-November. Jaguar was drawn to a balmy post-election market that rewarded it with favourable pricing and encouraged it to increase the deal.