BNP Paribas

The corporate bond market saw its second day of issuance in the new year on Monday when French multi-utility Veolia and Belgian electricity grid operator Elia sold new deals.

The Slovenian government is out with a 10 year euro bond issue on Monday, which will be priced later today. Bankers away from the deal say the highly rated issuer is a good soft test of investor appetite for CEEMEA debt.

Wayne Green, head of loan syndicate and sales for Asia Pacific at BNP Paribas, has relocated to Sydney for another position, according to sources close to the situation.

BNP Paribas has become the first European bank to put a callable non-preferred senior deal into the public market, after opening books on a new dollar deal on Thursday.

Emerging market issuers are hesitant to rush back into the market in the new year. Most are waiting on the sidelines until the tone becomes more settled and investor desks are fully staffed.

Berkshire Hathaway was one of five issuers to brave choppy conditions on Thursday and open the dollar market with the first trades of 2019.

Zurich-based syndicate heads entered the new year cautiously optimistic about the outlook for Swiss franc bond issuance in 2019.

Israel has opened the CEEMEA primary bond market for the year, mandating three banks for a euro denominated 10 year and/or long dated benchmark Reg S note.

The global high yield bond market has produced $320bn of new issues in 2018, up to December 21, 43% down on last year’s total of $563bn, according to Dealogic. Sentiment has turned progressively more bearish as the year has worn on, with concerns about US-China trade hostility and overvaluation of US equities biting.

Mergers and acquisitions in Europe are back. But what loans bankers have long hoped would be great news for their businesses is in most cases turning out to be a far less lucrative development, as companies increasingly turn to smaller banking groups to finance their acquisition plans. By Michael Turner.

Rising interest rates in the US have created a roaring market for convertible bonds. Europe’s barren market has been put to shame — it risks being the driest year for two decades. Going into 2019, Europe is likely to remain in the shade of the US, but there are hopes of an issuance rebound — that is if interest rates ever start to rise. Aidan Gregory reports.

Xinyi Energy Group (XYE) has cancelled its potential HK$4.5bn ($575.8m) IPO in response to choppy markets. It was planning to debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on December 21.