Citi

Korea Resources Corp (KoRes) is set to make its first appearance this year in the international bond market, having mandated four banks to work on a dollar offering.

Netmarble, the South Korean computer and mobile game developer, has mandated two international and two local firms for an IPO that could raise as much as W2tr ($1.6bn) this year.

Telefonica’s €600m equity-neutral convertible bond, launched and priced on Wednesday, proved controversial and had to be restructured mid-sale, highlighting the discomfort many investors feel with some of the currently fashionable CB structures.

The dollar FIG market enjoyed its busiest week of the year as banks emerged from the sidelines to dominate the primary market following a two week rally in credit spreads.

The State of Montenegro locked down €300m towards the refinancing of the €390m of Eurobonds it has maturing in April on Thursday, but was unable to crunch pricing tighter inside initial guidance released earlier in the day.

Five year bonds continue to dominate the public sector dollar market, with the World Bank and European Investment Bank securing oversubscribed books at what is proving to be the sweet spot for the currency.

Two Turkish bond deals this week were seen as a welcome treat for investors starved of recent supply from the country, and more is still in the pipeline.

British Telecommunications plc (BT) on Thursday joined the surge of blockbuster multi-tranche deals that has hit the euro bond market since mid-February as it raised €3.9bn of bonds across three tranches.

Even rival bankers are lavishing praise on the $1.5bn long 10 year bond Turkey sold on Wednesday, which drew a $4.47bn book and needed only a 10bp-15bp new issue premium to print.

Montenegro has released initial price thoughts for a five year euro denominated bond at 6% area, offering around a 50bp new issue premium, according to a banker away from the deal.

Citi is set to end a decade long association with China Guangfa Bank (CGB) having announced this week that it will be selling its entire stake in the lender to China Life Insurance.

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp sold half its stake in India’s Kotak Mahindra Capital this week, raising Rp20.69bn ($300m) in the year’s first block trade in the country. And in a rare case, the deal managed to bypass the problem of slippage typical with sell-downs in India. Jonathan Breen reports.