Citi

The Republic of Indonesia made an opportunistic outing this week, tapping both the dollar and the euro bond markets for about $3bn. The sovereign started the year with a different approach to its annual funding, in a bid to take advantage of strong liquidity in both the currencies, writes Morgan Davis.

Some of the SSA market's biggest names are already out for chunky dollar benchmarks, getting off the mark quickly in spite of some sharp moves in swap spreads. Most deals have gone well, but not everything has been a smooth ride.

A strong reception for a five year euro benchmark by KfW on Tuesday was enough to lure in a hesitant flock of public sector borrowers to the euro market as the pipeline stacks up for Wednesday’s business.

Xerox has secured $24bn in financing for its unsolicited debt backed bid for rival technology company HP, as the acquisitive firm looks to quell HP shareholder worries about how it will fund the jumbo deal.

Bahrain Mumtalakat, the country's sovereign wealth fund, is embarking on a roadshow with plans to print a seven year dollar sukuk. A syndicate official away from the deal called the move “courageous” given the political volatility in the Middle East.

A number of Chinese real estate companies kicked off their refinancing for 2020 on Monday, with higher rated issuers tapping longer-dated bonds and the weaker names actively engaging in liability management.

The Export-Import Bank of India clinched $1bn from a 10 year bond on Monday, riding on investor enthusiasm for deals from the country.

Chinese artificial intelligence company Megvii Technology is moving forward with its plan to list in Hong Kong, after getting the go-ahead from the city’s stock exchange, according to two sources close to the transaction.

The pipeline is starting to fill in the public sector bond market with the European Investment Bank and Kommunalbanken set to bring dollar deals and KfW preparing its first euro benchmark of the year. More deals — including the first sovereign syndication of the year— are set to follow this week.

KfW broke new ground in the sterling bond market on Monday by bringing its largest ever benchmark in the currency. Kommunalbanken is looking to latch on to the red hot market too after picking banks to lead a new December 2024 trade.

Norwegian oil exploration and production company Aker BP is positioning itself as an investment grade issuer with a new dual tranche dollar mandate, with a call targeting bond buyers with IG mandates, and an unsecured issue structure. The company received its second IG rating last November.

Asian bond issuers went full speed ahead with their fundraising plans on Monday, launching new deals ahead of Chinese New Year holidays at the end of the month.