Banks

AstraZeneca, the UK pharmaceuticals company, has lined up $17.5bn of bridge loans from three banks to back its $39bn acquisition of US biotech firm Alexion.

Bank of America will become a primary dealer for the Netherlands' government bond market next year, but ING has quit, as part of its strategy of scaling back its dealerships to relieve pressure on its financial markets business.

Small appliance retailer Vesync has bagged HK$1.55bn ($200m) from its Hong Kong IPO, pricing the deal at the top of the guidance range.

Asia-based Impact Investment Exchange (IIX) has raised $27.7m from a women's livelihood bond that was linked to the Covid-19 pandemic. Its chief executive and founder explains the deal’s rationale to GlobalCapital Asia.

Neel Laungani has rejoined Credit Suisse in a senior position in the Asia Pacific investment banking and capital markets (IBCM) team.

HSBC's investment banking coverage team in Hong Kong will begin 2021 with some personnel changes.

Chinese healthcare technology company Yidu Tech is set to begin drumming up demand for its Hong Kong IPO after winning listing approval from the city’s bourse.

Ukraine, which has proven itself a favourite of emerging market investors this year, has slipped into international markets for a small dollar tap before year-end. The trade comes amid strained negotiations between Ukraine and the IMF over the disbursement of emergency funding.

The strong run of green equity capital markets deals in Europe continued on Thursday night with a €224m sale of stock in Spanish infrastructure and renewable energy company Acciona.

The Prudential Regulation Authority has told UK banks that they are free to resume dividend and bonus payments from next year, though pay-outs will be subject to caps based on profits and risk-weighted assets.

Ahold Delhaize, the Dutch grocer, has refinanced a €1bn revolving credit facility and added sustainability-linked metrics to the deal, as the company’s capital structure continues its shift towards ecological and socially conscious financing.

Country Garden Services Holdings Company has raised HK$7.785bn ($1bn) from a placement of new shares, riding on strong investor interest in property management services companies over the past year.