BNP Paribas

High profile euro deals from Asia are shining a light on opportunities for the region’s issuers in the European market. An evolving investor base, enormous supply/demand imbalances and conducive policies from the ECB all point to a rise in euro denominated deals, both out of Asia and globally, write Virginia Furness and Isabella Zhong.

Kookmin Bank will be meeting investors during the next two weeks for a proposed international bond.

GS Caltex returned to the dollar market on Wednesday with a five year bond that was priced inside the issuer’s existing curve on the back of strong investor appetite for Korean credits.

France returned to the primary debt market this week with its first syndicated linker in more than three years, drawing a hefty order book for the inflation-linked bonds despite concerns over deflation in the eurozone.

Two less frequent European borrowers and the world’s biggest corporate bond issuer gave euro investors a varied diet today, as GE Capital issued a €500m FRN and Sandvik and Sixt brought their premarketing to fruition with sub-benchmark deals.

Turkish participation bank Albaraka Turk has removed BNP Paribas from its previously indicated arrangers, having mandated banks for a Reg S dollar sukuk roadshow beginning this week.

Sovereign, supranational and agency bankers are braced for a busy week of issuance, as demand for paper soars in the wake of the European Central Bank’s unveiling of a series of measures which have butchered rates last Thursday.

Korean issuance is picking up in the wake of the Republic of Korea’s dual tranche offering on June 3. Latest out the blocks include Korea National Oil Corp. which is meeting investors for a euro-denominated bond, and Korea Gas Corp, which is looking at dollars.

GS Caltex Corp has opened guidance on a five year fixed rate bond and joins a number of Korean names in the market today bond issuance continues to ramp up.

Ryanair’s first bond issue was always likely to be a hit in the current buoyant markets, but the runaway success of today’s €850m sale still left lead managers delighted.

Hedge fund investors are entering one-year capped variance and volatility swaps on baskets of stocks and exchange-traded funds with the view that some correlated underlyings will disperse in the near future against those that are likely to remain stable.

Parex, the French mortar producer, yesterday began roadshowing €550m of senior secured notes to back its takeover by CVC Capital Partners.