Crédit Agricole

Mexican state-owned oil giant Pemex emphatically showed it has access to capital markets on Thursday as it received more than $35bn of orders on the way to a $7.5bn trade that could grow as existing bondholders participate in an exchange.

In the nervous last day before the European Central Bank's much-hyped monetary policy announcement on Thursday, only two corporate bond issuers brought deals. Both Orange, the French telecoms group, and Worldline, the French payments group carved out of Atos.

Investment grade corporate bond issuance has slowed right down on Wednesday, as issuers and investors are getting cautious before the European Central Bank monetary policy meeting on Thursday.

The sustainability-linked bond issued by Enel on Thursday opens a new chapter in the green finance market. Anyone tempted to think this will be a freak should think again. The idea is sure to catch on.

Corporate bond issuance in euros was busy again on Tuesday, with four deals, but they were moderately sized, so the total was nothing like Monday's haul of €6bn and £1.25bn.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has priced $3.15bn of green bonds in US dollars, Hong Kong dollars and offshore renminbi (CNH), achieving a number of firsts in the process.

Corporate bond issuers made full use of the last few days before the European Central Bank's much-anticipated announcement on monetary policy on Thursday. Despite the hectic activity of the past two weeks, investors were still oversubscribing deals two or three times.

Two of the smaller airports in England are looking to raise US private placements, according to sources in the market, as players note that airports and port operators in Australia and Europe have carved out a particularly strong section of the market in the past 12 months.

Two new corporate bond issues hit the market on Friday, wrapping up the busiest week of the year, in which nearly €22bn of new notes have been printed. Despite the frantic activity, investors have been willing to lend, though companies may have had to pay larger new issue premiums.

A new sustainable finance product, which has the potential for huge growth, was launched on Thursday when Enel, the Italian electricity and gas company, issued the first bond in which the interest rate can be altered during the term of the debt, based on the borrower’s sustainability performance.

The Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO), made its Uzbekistani som debut this week to take advantage of funds flowing into EM currencies thanks to low rates in dollars. Elsewhere, euro investors are looking at the ultra-long end of the SSA market.

The frenzy of investment grade corporate bond issuance in Europe intensified on Thursday, when eight companies came to market, issuing a total of €6.6bn of paper in euros. That brought the total for the first four days of this week to over €20bn. Despite the heavy supply, issuers have found sufficient demand to support their notes.