Citi

The summer slowdown finally arrived in the US corporate bond market this week, with just a handful of issuers showing up before September's season truly begins — bringing what is expected to be a bumper crop of deals.

Norilsk Nickel, the Russian metal and mining company, was set to issue a benchmark dollar bond on Thursday evening, just months after it was found responsible for a series of major diesel spills.

A trio of European SSAs raised a combined $6bn with five year dollar benchmarks this week. Kommunalbanken, the European Stability Mechanism and Nordic Investment Bank all hit a “very deep pocket” of demand in the tenor.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) returned to the market this week to place two more deals, as it ramps up its MTN issuance following a debut in Hong Kong dollars last Friday.

Ex-Barclays banker joins Finsbury to develop equity advisory — Laubjerg hired for natural resources at HSBC — Rousseau leaves Deutsche and joins Citi

Fast food franchise operator Yum China Holdings is cooking a multi-billion-dollar secondary offering in Hong Kong. It is the latest deal in a growing trend that bankers expect will bring more US-listed Chinese companies to the exchange by the the end of 2020, writes Jonathan Breen.

Solar glass manufacturer Xinyi Solar Holdings raised HK$2.7bn ($343.5m) on Wednesday, after boosting the size of a primary share sale.

Singapore’s Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC) raised $1bn from a tier two subordinated note on Wednesday that was priced at a new low.

China Merchants Bank (CMB) sold its first green bond on Wednesday, taking $800m on the back of support from sustainability-focused investors.

The top investment banks will achieve substantially higher returns on equity this year, predicts analytics firm Coalition, after revenues in fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) soared in the first half of the year.

The European Stability Mechanism hit dollar the market on Wednesday with a five year benchmark — its fourth ever in the currency. Two Nordic issuers are set to follow suit on Thursday.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) is seeking to raise a dual tranche offering this week. The deal is the latest in a flurry of trades from Gulf issuers seeking to take advantage of attractive market conditions amid low oil prices and increasing Covid-19 related costs.