Crédit Agricole

Hong Kong scored with a $1bn debut green bond this week, after investors poured more than $4bn into the transaction’s final order book. The deal was a strategic attempt by the government to encourage the development of green financing in the city, but the impact remains to be seen. Morgan Davis reports.

Thales, the French defence company, slipped a €500m no-grow three year issue into the bond market on Tuesday, alongside Vodafone's much bigger deal, and after another three-trancher from Becton Dickinson on Monday. All three deals' short dated tranches were priced tightly.

The Netherlands got a huge reception for its highly anticipated inaugural green bond on Tuesday, with a final book of over €20bn that allowed the sovereign to issue at the upper end of its target.

Latvia re-opened its 2049 line on Monday, bringing the total to €1bn with a tap that came almost flat to its curve and completed its funding programme for the year.

NatWest Markets and Crédit Agricole both came to the market on Monday with supply from the safest end of the capital stack. Both deals were heavily subscribed in the face of trade war tensions and uncertainty over Brexit.

Latvia was in market on Monday for a tap of a 30 year bond, returning to the line it opened three months ago. The deal enjoyed strong demand, allowing leads to slice 6bp from the spread.

Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC) will introduce its new green, social and sustainability bond framework to investors ahead of a debut euro benchmark sustainability bond.

Thursday’s corporate bond new issue action in Europe confirmed the picture presented on Wednesday: that investors were determined not to let macroeconomic issues bother them, and were piling into new issues. The day was less blemished than the previous one had been by volatility, enabling issuers to get some very tight spreads.

Guarantor: Federal Republic of Germany

KfW and the World Bank brought well received socially responsible bonds to the market this week that set new landmarks for the public sector borrowers.

France’s Eiffage has doubled the size of its revolving credit line to €2bn, with the civil engineering construction company becoming the latest name to add social and environmental language to its loan documentation.

A trio of French companies moved ahead with Schuldschein deals this week, and bankers expect the coming weeks to be packed with borrowers seeking to raise funds before the summer.