Banks

Bank balance sheets are set to expand and Intesa's will be no exception. It will mean an an increased reliance on central bank funding. But apart from this, the Italian bank's mix of funding is likely to remain unchanged from February with the emphasis on regulatory capital. But as Alessandro Lolli, head of group treasury and finance told GlobalCapital, the bank has great flexibility in navigating its capital raising during the pandemic.

Emerging market bond issuance, particularly from the Middle East, has been recovering after the brutal March shocks of Covid-19 and low oil prices. Egypt took that momentum further on Thursday as it announced a triple tranche trade.

A strong performance in the restricted tier one (RT1) instruments has put the niche insurance bond market in the spotlight recently. Some investors have made strong returns from the asset class, as valuations have recovered during the coronavirus crisis.

Cruise ship operator Genting Hong Kong has become the latest Asian company to seek a covenant waiver on a loan as the Covid-19 pandemic hits its operations. A rise in payment deferral requests is putting further pressure on retail banks that are already being forced to take a step back from lending. Pan Yue reports.

At least four issuers are planning to sell Panda bonds in June, GlobalCapital China has learned. Rebecca Feng reports.

New York Stock Exchange-listed online gaming company Sea tapped equity-linked bond investors for $1bn this week, following a surge in its share price after it reported strong first quarter earnings.

SK Biopharmaceuticals is set to reopen the South Korean IPO market with a W959.3bn ($779.9m) listing, according to a source close to the deal.

Henderson Land Development Co took advantage of the strong aftermarket performance of recent bonds sold by its Hong Kong peers to raise $300m from investors on Wednesday.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank grabbed $3bn of five year paper on Wednesday, selling its first sustainable development bond. It was joined in the market by a 10 year dollar trade from Nederlandse Waterschapsbank.

Italy’s Ferrari in euros and the UK’s Southern Water Services in sterling won strong demand for new bonds on Wednesday, but the slowdown in issuance has got some syndicate officials wondering if the market is already winding down for summer.

Huhtamäki, the Finnish veteran of the Schuldschein market, is looking for a five year deal. Several bankers have said many other international issuers are coming as the market emerges from the first phase of the coronavirus pandemic, but they will find market norms have changed.

Rabobank said on Wednesday that it would take advantage of various EU schemes of funding and capital support, as it provided the market with an ad hoc update on its financial position during the coronavirus pandemic.