Currencies

Chinese delivery services company SF Express is planning to repay a HK$5bn ($640m) loan sealed in September 2019 with the proceeds of a longer tenor bond issued last week.

Intense demand in the Swiss franc bond market for any asset with a positive yield — or even anything yielding more than the penal negative rates on cash — gave a varied group of issuers this week execution that pushed the boundaries — bigger, faster and tighter.

Two SSA borrowers hit screens on Wednesday with green euro benchmarks, following a successful outing by Madrid, which saw the bond’s sustainability feature driving the spread to the tightest achieved at reoffer by a Spanish region.

The euro market, unlike the quiet dollar market, is going from strength to strength for SSA borrowers. However, the tight spreads are starting to make their presence felt, with investors starting to push back.

A pair of SSA borrowers hit screens on Wednesday for green euro benchmarks. However, one has decided that its marketing process will be entirely conducted over the phone.

Madrid hit the market with a 10 year sustainable bond on Tuesday, raising €1.25bn at its tightest ever spread to the Spanish sovereign, selling into its largest ever book.

Belgium was able to print a large 20 year benchmark bond on Tuesday, pulling in a book of €27bn. But despite the size of the demand, investors were reluctant to follow the price more than 1bp from initial guidance.

By opening up its debut social bond to retail investors, Munich highlighted an often overlooked strength of the socially responsible investment (SRI) market. Distributed correctly, these funding tools demonstrate the true impact of ethical investing.

Trading levels given are bid-side spreads versus mid-swaps and/or an underlying benchmark and bid-yields from the close of business on Monday, February 17. The source for secondary trading levels is ICE Data Services.

China Datang Corp, a power generation company, is making its debut in the offshore loan market, seeking HK$5bn ($643m).

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China turned to the Australian debt market on Monday to raise A$500m ($336m) through its Sydney branch.

Two public sector borrowers hit screens with new issues on Monday, with Belgium choosing a 20 year and Madrid opting for a 10 year sustainable bond.