Currencies

After a drought of new investment grade corporate bonds from the telecom sector, French operator Orange made it two in two days after Telefónica sold a seven year trade on Tuesday. Orange offered a 12 year tranche as well as another seven year offering, but had to leave something on the table to achieve a €2bn print.

A day after Swedish bearings and seals manufacturer SKF announced a tender offer for its outstanding short dated bonds, it sold a €300m seven year bond to finance the buy-back.

European corporate bond investors have enjoyed the extra yield a bunch of new 12 year bonds have offered in the last two weeks, but are warning that issuers may need to find a new trick soon.

Two Chinese bond issuers found opposite responses to their green outings on Tuesday. While China General Nuclear Power Corp opted for a euro-denominated deal to target green dedicated funds in Europe, Beijing Capital Group found less traction with sustainability-focused investors for its dollar trade.

Swiss healthcare company Roche took advantage of upcoming redemptions and a new investor base following its rating upgrade by Moody’s, to raise CHF900m ($922m) from a dual tranche offering.

China General Nuclear Power Corporation sold its second green bond in the euro market on Tuesday, nine months after its first success in the format. Last time the company sold green alongside five and 10 year conventional dollar bonds and this time it used a similar combination, replacing the 10 year dollar option with 30 year notes.

Spanish telecoms company Telefónica sold its second euro-denominated senior bond of 2018, benefitting from one its quietest years of issuance with a single digit new issue premium.

Italian gas distributor 2i Rete Gas has dared to test the corporate bond market’s appetite for issuers from the country with a seven year trade. With its government budget on the horizon, some market participants said this deal could make or break the market for Italian issuance in 2018.

A string of call dates is approaching for Middle East perpetual tier one bonds and DCM bankers are starting to look at whether these will be refinanced — and if so, how.

Leo Paper Group, a Hong Kong-based printing services company, has signed a HK$350m ($45m) four year green term loan and revolving credit facility with seven banks, making it the first privately-held firm to complete such a transaction.

Italy could return to the market for a second syndication this year, following the government’s highly anticipated 2019 budget, according to SSA bankers.

Dutch brewer Heineken took advantage of a quiet market on Monday’s US Labor Day holiday to print a €1.25bn dual tranche deal with new issue premiums some participants saw in single digits.