BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas is creating a corporate debt platform in its financing solutions group, bringing together debt capital markets, loan capital markets origination and corporate acquisition finance.

The ruffled state of Europe's high yield bond market will give Xavier Niel, the French telecoms entrepreneur, plenty to think about as he considers whether to use the market to finance his planned takeover of Orange Switzerland, the mobile phone company.

Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust has net a loan of S$180m ($137m) from a group of three lenders, with the first drawdown of the facilities expected to occur before the year ends.

Terna — Vattenfall — Gamesa

BNP Paribas has appointed Peter Kwok as chief executive of BNPP (China) on the back of rising demand from clients in China for sophisticated financial services. Kwok started in his new role on December 11.

French engineering and construction services firm Spie this week cut margins on its €625m 4.5m year bullet term loan E and let another bank onto its arranging ticket.

Louis Dreyfus Commodities Metals Suisse, a subsidiary of Louis Dreyfus Commodities, has signed an $800m dual tranche loan with a group of 46 banks.

Terna, the Italian electricity transmission system operator, signed a €750m credit facility last week. And more activity is expected soon in the Italian corporate loan market.

Market participants have been buying put options on the euro against the Swiss franc as potential quantitative easing from the European Central Bank could signal some downward movement in spot on the currency pair, raising speculation over the Swiss National Bank's floor at Sfr1.20.

Gamesa, the Spanish wind turbine manufacturer, has signed a €750m syndicated revolver with a single bullet repayment in December 2019. The banks are the same as those on Gamesa’s loan signed in March, except for Bankia, which is no longer participating.

Swedish power company Vattenfall has signed a €2bn five year revolving credit facility with 15 banks, with strong support from its banking syndicate.

BNP Paribas Investment Partners (BNPP IP), the asset management arm of of the French bank, has opened a subsidiary in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (FTZ), to complement its two branches there and its existing onshore joint venture.