Citi

Citi has combined its Middle East and Africa (ex-South Africa) investment banking divisions and named a head for the new entity.

The year-end bond rush is upon us, with a number of issuers from China, India and South Korea mandating banks on Tuesday for their planned dollar bonds.

China’s Tianqi Lithium Corp raised $300m on Monday, with its dollar bond debut being more than six times covered. Several factors coincided to give the deal a fillip, including the scarcity value of the company's notes, its market leading position, and a yield pick-up over similarly rated state-owned names.

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan has set the stage for a dollar-denominated sukuk and a dollar conventional bond, hiring banks for the transaction.

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) made seven changes to its list of global systemically important banks (G-SIBs) on Monday, lowering capital requirements for BNP Paribas and Credit Suisse and removing Groupe BPCE from the list entirely.

Union Bank of the Philippines launched its first international bond in 13 years on Tuesday, offering investors a bit of diversity in a day otherwise filled with Chinese issuers.

Greatship (India) has hit the syndicated loan market for the first time in seven years, seeking $249m for refinancing.

Orders for Nigeria’s 10 and 30 year bond issue had reached $5.5bn on Monday morning. The 10 year portion is likely to take the most orders, but the 30 year tranche is piquing interest, according to deal watchers.

India’s Reliance Industries is the first to take advantage of the positive sentiment around the country following the sovereign’s ratings upgrade last week. The petrochemical to digital services conglomerate started marketing a dollar bond on Monday morning.

Chinese lithium producer Tianqi Lithium Corp is bringing some diversity to the debt market with its inaugural offering of a dollar bond.

Chiyu Banking Corp and Orient Securities Co have mandated firms to run new dollar bond deals, with roadshows set to start on Monday.

A €30bn debt exchange by Greece’s Public Debt Management Agency began on Wednesday and should help the sovereign boost the liquidity in the long end of its curve, said SSA bankers. But some warned that liquidity cuts two ways, meaning the sovereign’s levels could be more sensitive to any bad news that comes its way — although those working on the deal feel the upside far outweighs that risk, writes Craig McGlashan.