Barclays

European Central Bank president Mario Draghi struck an upbeat note on the currency bloc’s growth prospects at a press conference following a governing council meeting on Thursday, but analysts still expect borrowers to enjoy supportive conditions for some time yet. The meeting — and the approaching year end — meant euro supply was thin on the ground, but Iceland did take the opportunity to return after several years away.

Rating: A3/A/A

Savannah Petroleum, the UK oil and gas company focusing on African exploration, has announced a range of 40p to 50p a share for a follow-on share placing to fund its acquisition of the Nigerian oil and gas assets of Seven Energy.

Asian bond volumes soared this year, breaking records with $350bn of issuance. Can 2018 possibly be any better? Addison Gong attempts to find out.

Guirenniao Co was forced to pull its dollar bond on Tuesday as a result of unfavourable market conditions, as thinning liquidity in Asia at the year end took a toll on the issuer.

Iceland was awash with orders on Wednesday for its first deal since 2014, which came alongside a tender offer for the sovereign’s July 2020 bonds.

Three Chinese issuers hit the market on Tuesday with dollar deals, but each saw a very different outcome. One company sealed a successful trade, another locked up a private placement style bond, while the third was forced to pull its transaction.

This week, bankers and investors in the European high yield market sounded a message of confidence to potential issuers of bonds with triple-C ratings, even after BMC cancelled one such deal.

India’s Rural Electrification Corp raised $400m from a three year bullet on Monday, opting for an unusual tenor for a credit from the country, but still finding more than enough support for its deal.

Three Chinese issuers hit the debt market on Tuesday, launching dollar deals. While the pace of new issuance is beginning to slow down, there appears to be no end in sight for the primary bond market.

India’s Rural Electrification Corp kicked off the week by launching a three year dollar bond on Monday morning local time.

BMC Software has shrunk its triple-C rated high yield bond issue from €380m to €250m as demand proves hard to come by. But Burger King France has managed to price its offering at the tight end of the range, though with an adjustment to the tranching.