Corp Bonds - Swiss franc

Ford is set to pull into the Swiss franc bond market after a 19 year absence, having appointed a trio of banks to commence investor calls ahead of a potential deal.

Ronald Hinterkircher, who is retiring from the Swiss franc bond market after a 40 year career, has told GlobalCapital that digitalisation and the possible removal of the withholding tax for foreign investors could change the market over the next few years. But with the European Central Bank propping up the euro bond market, arbitrage opportunities for international companies in Swiss francs are vanishingly slim.

Givaudan and Nant de Drance attracted big order books this week, driven by demand from asset managers, allowing both to price Swiss franc bonds through fair value.

Syngenta, the agricultural chemical and seed company, returned to the Swiss franc market this week for its second Swissie bond of the year — a blowout three year deal that surpassed the market’s expectations.

Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), the pan-African development finance institution, has held investor calls ahead of its first green bond issue that Swiss franc bankers expect to launch next week.

Swisscom raised Sfr100m ($110m) on Thursday with an 11 year bond sold without the involvement of an intermediary bank. The company worked with Swiss fintech company Valyo to issue the bond through its platform that directly connects issuers and investors.

Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli sold the week’s tastiest Swiss franc deal when it returned to the market on Tuesday to refinance an upcoming Sfr500m ($549.8m) redemption.

Crédit Agricole’s Swiss subsidiary sold its first structured covered bond in Swiss francs on Wednesday. The bond was issued under a new programme that differentiates it from covered bonds issued by its parent bank under French law in the Swiss market.

Latin American development bank Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF) issued Sfr350m ($382m) of five year paper on Monday with its first green bond in the Swiss franc market. Primary issuance in Swiss bonds has been slim over the past few weeks, though there are signs of a pick up through the rest of August.

Despite the coronavirus crisis and uncertainty about the November US election, the Swiss franc market is feeling optimistic for the second half of the year, expecting a strong run of issuance until late autumn.

The Swiss franc market is having a busy year, with a strong showing from corporate and SSA issuers helping the market to its highest year to date volume since 2015, according to Dealogic.

Pharmaceutical manufacturer Ferring launched its first public bond on Thursday. The sector's prominent role during the coronavirus pandemic helped to drive up demand.