Crédit Agricole

Shenzhen listed Xuzhou Construction Machinery (XCMG) has returned to the market for a dual currency fundraising of $130m. The deal is offering lenders comfort in the form of a guarantee from China Export and Credit Insurance Corp (Sinosure).

Tentative allocations are out for Indonesian oil and gas company Pertamina’s five year fundraising. The loan has been closed at a size of $1.747bn, with the dozen banks at the top that prefunded the money managing to sell down as per expectations, said bankers close to the transaction.

Greece’s olive branches to its creditors failed to impress sovereign DCM and syndicate bankers and investors this week as its bonds were routed once again. But the fortunes of the Hellenic Republic — the first eurozone country to seek a bail-out — were in stark contrast to those of the first country to leave one as Ireland sold a triumphant debut 30 year benchmark.

SIG Combibloc has followed Altice's recent example by demonstrating the European market’s keen appetite for large leveraged M&A deals. SIG has tightened pricing on the loans in its €2.8bn deal and replaced some of the deal's bonds with loans.

Aluminium company China Hongqiao is braving rough conditions to seek a $600m loan, which is being led by five banks. The borrower is offering generous returns, given the heightened risk surrounding the commodity sector.

SNCF Réseau sold its largest ever benchmark on Tuesday, showing it had little problem tempting investors back to its paper after rebranding from Réseau Ferré de France (RFF).

The rally in government bonds since the European Central Bank announced its sovereign quantitative easing programme at the end of January has restored relative value in core European covered bonds. Though yields remain low, BPCE and Belfius Bank this week issued benchmark deals that enjoyed exceptionally good demand that was boosted by the return of real money rates investors to covered bonds.

The European high yield market on Tuesday keenly accepted the first triple-C rated deals of the year: a buyout financing bond from Swiss carton maker SIG Combibloc and a refinancing issue for Norske Skog, the paper company.

Eiffage, the French construction company, is refinancing a €3.3bn term loan and revolving facility for its subsidiary Autoroutes Paris-Rhin-Rhône (APRR). Seven banks are underwriting the loan and syndication is planned to close next week.

International bond investors welcomed back Tower Bersama for the first time in two years as the Indonesian telecoms tower operator priced a $350m seven year non-call four offering on February 3. On the back of strong demand, the issuer achieved the lowest ever yield for a seven or longer tenor offering from a private Indonesian company in the high yield market.

Investors shrugged off concerns about contagion to other eurozone countries from Greece’s stand-off with its creditors on Tuesday, as they flooded into Ireland’s first ever 30 year syndication. Greek yields also screamed lower during the day after its finance minister hinted that the country’s new government might not pursue a debt write-down, while fellow bail-out recipient Cyprus returned to bill auctions.

SNCF Réseau had little problem tempting investors back to its paper after a rebranding from Réseau Ferré de France, as it sold its largest ever benchmark on Tuesday.