Currencies

Reliance Jio Infocomm, the mobile network operator controlled by India’s Reliance Industries, has raised ¥53.5bn ($498m), the largest Samurai loan for an Asian corporation.

Hong Kong-listed Canvest Environmental Protection Group Company, a waste-to-energy provider, is seeking a $150m-equivalent borrowing denominated in Hong Kong dollars.

Guarantor: Federal Republic of Germany

A pair of supranationals helped bolster Hong Kong’s green bond ambitions with some SRI deals this week.

KfW drew its largest ever benchmark book this week while visiting the seven year tenor, a part of the euro curve that has been red hot for issuers for several weeks and that SSA bankers still has plenty to offer borrowers next week. The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) is lining up a deal for next week, although bankers are suggesting it looks at the long end.

Public sector bankers lined up to laud a new SSA borrower this week, as the International Development Association (IDA) surpassed expectations on its bond debut. Now, many are eager to see the its next move, with many anticipating a Washington supranational with greater currency flexibility, writes Craig McGlashan.

Tryg Forsikring, a Danish insurance firm, came to the market on Thursday with a restricted tier one (RT1) bond in Swedish kronor. The majority of RT1s issued since 2016 have been in Nordic currencies.

After selling €4.6bn of loans in March, Unilever Spreads unveiled the €1bn high yield bond portion of its leveraged buyout funding package on Wednesday. But as well as jumbo deals, other borrowers with smaller offerings are also vying for investor attention.

French telecoms company Iliad is becoming a frequent borrower in the corporate bond market. Two deals in six years have been followed by two deals in seven months. The company’s latest deal, a dual tranche offering, was its largest to date, but order books were barely 1.5 times oversubscribed.

A four week wait for a new corporate hybrid deal came to an end this week with $2.3bn of supply. The levels of oversubscription, however, showed that plenty of demand still remains as investors clamour for the enhanced yields on offer compared to senior debt.

A trio of Australian issuers had a mixed response to their corporate bond issuance this week. Sydney Airport was priced with no new issue premium, but compatriot Stockland found itself paying a 20bp premium two days later.

Swiss franc bond market players are conflicted about the substantial slide in the Swiss franc, which has lost about 3.5% of its value against both the euro and dollar in the past two months.