BNP Paribas

In the nervous last day before the European Central Bank's much-hyped monetary policy announcement on Thursday, only two corporate bond issuers brought deals. Both Orange, the French telecoms group, and Worldline, the French payments group carved out of Atos.

Investment grade corporate bond issuance has slowed right down on Wednesday, as issuers and investors are getting cautious before the European Central Bank monetary policy meeting on Thursday.

Investors chased South Korean semiconductor manufacturer SK Hynix’s $500m bonds both in the primary and secondary markets, even though the borrower pulled off one of the largest price reductions on a deal from the country.

Chinese issuers Country Garden Holdings Co, Guangxi Communications Investment Group Corp and Shuifa Group, all of which have investment-grade ratings, have sold well-supported dollar bonds to investors.

The sustainability-linked bond issued by Enel on Thursday opens a new chapter in the green finance market. Anyone tempted to think this will be a freak should think again. The idea is sure to catch on.

Corporate bond issuance in euros was busy again on Tuesday, with four deals, but they were moderately sized, so the total was nothing like Monday's haul of €6bn and £1.25bn.

KfW won huge praise from on-looking bankers for a curve extending and rare 10 year dollar green bond on Tuesday. The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and Österreichische Kontrollbank (OeKB) also enjoyed success in the dollar primary market with three year trades, with the former selling its debut Sofr-linked floating rate note.

ANZ New Zealand was well received after opting for a longer maturity on its return to the euro senior market this week, welcoming €1.2bn of orders for its €500m 10 year.

Kuwait's Warba Bank is embarking on a roadshow to market its first senior unsecured sukuk. The dollar five year note is expected to be printed “around the 3% mark”, according to a DCM banker on the deal.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has priced $3.15bn of green bonds in US dollars, Hong Kong dollars and offshore renminbi (CNH), achieving a number of firsts in the process.

Corporate bond issuers made full use of the last few days before the European Central Bank's much-anticipated announcement on monetary policy on Thursday. Despite the hectic activity of the past two weeks, investors were still oversubscribing deals two or three times.

KfW mandated banks for its longest ever dollar green bond on Monday, while the Inter-American Development Bank is taking indications of interest for its inaugural Sofr-linked floating rate note.