BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas has hired a new debt capital markets banker on to its green bond team.

As bankers look under the Christmas trees of the European IG corporate bond markets for 2018, the shapes and sizes are all very predictable. A year dominated by a lack of surprises, particularly compared with previous years, is coming to a close in similar fashion.

Reliance Industries has allocated its $2.49bn multi-tranche fundraising among 31 banks, with plans to transfer in the new lenders before the end of the year, said bankers close to the trade.

The sovereign green bond market looks set to come of age next year, with some issuers confirming that they will join the likes of France in printing deals and others mulling the possibility. But the model may not fit all government borrowers — for the moment, at least. Craig McGlashan reports.

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

Syndicate Bank has become the latest in a string of Indian state-owned lenders to opt for a qualified institutional placement, looking to raise up to Rp12bn ($186.2m) in primary capital.

China Education Group Holdings has priced its Hong Kong IPO just above the mid-point of guidance to raise HK$3.2bn ($413.1m), according to a banker on the deal.

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.

The year's total issuance of triple-C rated bonds in the European high yield market jumped from €4bn to more than €6bn this week. Many believe this could be the last week to bring new deals in 2017.

The euro high yield pipeline unveiled a battery of deals this week, six of them with ratings below double-B. The largest came from French frozen food retailer Picard Surgelés, which will refinance over €1bn of existing debt and pay a dividend to its private equity sponsors.

China General Nuclear Power Corp (CGNPC) raised around $1.5bn from a dual currency, triple-tranche transaction on Monday, which included a green bond. The issuer’s ambition to raise funds at the long end of the curve meant it offered a juicy pick-up on the five-to-10 year dollar curve compared to other A-rated state-owned names.

China Education Group Holdings has opened books for its up to HK$3.5bn ($450m) IPO in Hong Kong, with high-profile investors such as GIC and International Finance Corp taking up cornerstone positions.