Citi

BP, the UK oil company, completed the biggest ever hybrid bond sale this week with a $12bn-equivalent debut issuance across multiple currencies, leading to rising expectations that other oil majors without hybrid debt will be entering the market too.

The Republic of Belarus ditched euros on its return to bond markets on Wednesday, printing two dollar tranches on which it was able to ratchet pricing tighter.

Stephan Gimpel is leaving Citi to pursue an opportunity in fintech, after 14 years in the US bank’s debt capital markets business.

The Asian equity-linked bond market was flooded with deals on Wednesday as Far East Horizon, 3SBio and China Mengniu Dairy tapped investors for a combined $760m.

China Construction Bank Corp has sold the first Basel III-compliant tier two bond from China since the global outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, raising $2bn.

It was another scorching day in Europe’s high grade market on Wednesday following further central bank-created exuberance, as investors piled more than €55bn of orders into deals from across the spectrum of ratings and sectors.

The European Investment Bank and the State of Brandenburg have mandated banks to bring euro deals on Thursday, in what has been an extremely thin week for supply with issuers well funded and some weakness in secondaries.

Legal & General’s order books peaked at over £4bn ($4.96bn) as it made its first sale of restricted tier one (RT1) capital this week, joining many of its UK peers in the asset class. The insurer used the popularity of its trade to tighten the pricing and leave no new issue premium behind.

Sovereign, supranational and agency bond issuers are mobilising their resources to support the fight against Covid-19. The below table details the bonds they have issued, specifically in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

ESR Cayman, a warehouse construction firm and lessor, is planning to list a real estate investment trust (Reit) in South Korea later this year, according to a source close to the transaction.

BP, the UK oil major, has announced its debut hybrid trade with a multi-tranche triple currency deal mandate. The borrower was looking to steady its credit ratings a day after warning that it was going to write-off up to $17.5bn of assets.

Europe’s corporate bond market burst into life on Tuesday with more than 10 primary deals on screens, as the US Federal Reserve’s plans to buy individual bonds brushed aside fears of a resurgence of Covid-19.