CEE Bonds

Ukraine is pricing a $1bn US government guaranteed bond via JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley, according to two DCM officials away from the deal.

China Construction Bank is set to launch a renminbi-denominated bond via its Frankfurt branch this week, according to two bankers close to the deal. It will be the first Frankfurt-issued CNH bond from a Chinese issuer, as Agricultural Bank of China's recent Frankfurt-listed deal was issued in Hong Kong as a dim sum deal.

Turkey dominates the sukuk scene in central and eastern Europe via the sovereign and participation banks. But the Czech Republic has emerged as another possible breeding ground for Islamic finance.

Montenegro is on track to print a euro deal of around €280m this afternoon, having received over €1.5bn in orders for its new bond. Around €200m is new money, with the remainder coming from borrowers switching out of the sovereign’s older deal as part of an accompanying liability management exercise.

Some banks big in the emerging markets this week laughed at GlobalCapital when we asked the question of whether any cuts had yet been made to their Russian bond teams. "It has only been two months since the start of the Crimea crisis!" they said, and this is, after all, the emerging markets, where volatility is par for the course. Many are cheerily optimistic that Russian bond business could return in the second half of this year. We disagree.

Montenegro has released price guidance for its new euro denominated five year bond at high 5%, which bankers away from the deal called "fair to generous". A minimum yield of 5.5% was set for the new issue last week.

Croatia has mandated Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Société Générale and Banca IMI to arrange a euro dominated bond.

It has been a two momentous weeks for the offshore renminbi market. There has been a torrent of deals, Frankfurt and Luxembourg have seen their debut RMB bond issues, and standby letters of credit (SBLCs) have been used for the first time in the asset class. Coming after another busy period in policymaking, when Paris gained an RQFII quota, and London and Frankfurt signed payments agreements with China, the momentum looks unstoppable.

South Africa's FirstRand Bank made its Swiss franc debut on Tuesday afternoon, becoming the second issuer from the country to tap the market in recent years. The investor bid was strong enough for the issuer to follow up with a swift increase the day after pricing.

Albaraka Turk has picked arrangers as it aims to follow participation bank peer Turkiye Finans’s recent return to the dollar sukuk market. But one investor warned that Albaraka may find its deal more challenging.

South Africa's FirstRand Bank made its Swiss franc debut on Tuesday afternoon, with leads able to outstrip the issuer's minimum size ambitions.

FirstRand Bank is set to sell its inaugural Swiss franc bond on Tuesday afternoon, following fellow South African lender African Bank which has issued at least once annually in the currency for the last three years.