Banks

Six Chinese companies sold Rmb6.4bn ($994m) of ‘carbon neutrality bonds’ this week, supporting Beijing’s goal of net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2060. The format could lead to a spike in international investor interest in China’s debt market. Addison Gong reports.

New Horizon Health, a medical device manufacturer, has scooped up HK$2.04bn ($263.4m) from its IPO after strong institutional investor demand pushed pricing up to the top of the marketed range.

Société Générale and Natixis both endured a difficult 2020 in their markets business, but in the fourth quarter their equities divisions managed to pull off a brighter performance.

Ørsted, the Danish power company, pushed into the green hybrid sterling market on Wednesday, with the largely UK-based sterling buyer base proving to be just as keen on the debt as their euro counterparts.

Norway comfortably set a new order book record as it came to the market for just its fifth ever syndicated transaction on Wednesday.

Chuka Umunna has been appointed by JP Morgan to a newly created post of head of ESG for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

First Abu Dhabi Bank, the largest bank in the UAE, debuted in the euro market on Tuesday, selling a bond that was more than twice subscribed just a week after it entered the sterling market.

KfW became the latest in a series of top SSA names to launch an ESG transaction in Canadian dollars, tapping into a growing base of investors in the country.

Norway’s Sparebank 1 SMN is set to return with its second green bond in the coming days, becoming the third Nordic issuer to tap the public market this year.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena said there were some “uncertainties” around its capital strengthening plans as it slumped to a €1.7bn annual loss on Wednesday. The Italian lender has recently denied rumours that it is working on an imminent sale of subordinated debt.

BPCE is planning to buy the stake in Natixis it does not already own, and is also examining splitting it up, placing its corporate and investment banking activities and asset and wealth management branch into a new structure.

Prada, the Italian fashion house, has made a return to the sustainability-linked loan market, becoming one of the few borrowers in Europe to sign a second deal that links the margin it pays to its sustainability performance.