Deutsche Bank

The US and Hong Kong IPO markets saw a raft of companies trying to catch the last window for their listings before the year end, as the short-lived rally from the US-China trade war ceasefire did little to reassure ECM bankers and investors, writes Christie Ou.

Policy lender China Development Bank printed a dual-currency, three-tranche transaction on Tuesday, raising $2.4bn-equivalent. While it paid just a couple of basis points of new issue premium for the dollar bonds amid a short-lived market rally, demand for the euro portion exceeded expectations.

The Republic of Indonesia managed to raise $3bn across three tranches of notes in its annual dollar funding exercise, but paid a double-digit premium to attract investors cautious about the sovereign credit.

Tencent Music Entertainment Group has begun bookbuilding for its long-awaited $1.23bn IPO in the US, around two months after first gauging investor appetite.

Eurofima received strong demand for its first green bond on Monday, with the leads attributing the success to the timing of the transaction.

Three Chinese borrowers with education businesses are seeking funds from retail lenders in syndication.

French postal operator La Poste saved the corporate bond market in Europe from registering a blank week when it sold its first green bond last Friday. On Wednesday, Deutsche Post followed its peer’s lead by announcing a deal with the same tenor.

Four borrowers piled into the dollar bond market on Thursday, adding to one of the busiest weeks of the year despite tough market conditions. UK telecoms company BT led the charge with a $1.35bn two-part deal.

The last posting date for Christmas tends to coincide with the closing of the euro corporate bond market. Ahead of that coincidence this year, two postal companies have sold new bonds, after Deutsche Post followed La Poste of France’s lead.

Semen Indonesia has launched senior syndication for a $1.28bn loan that will be used to buy the local operations of rival LafargeHolcim.

Jonathan Gold, the former co-head of EMEA FIG DCM at Deutsche Bank, has resurfaced as a partner in Deloitte’s UK corporate finance advisory team, leading banking and capital markets origination and working closely with the insurance team.

Private equity firms Bain Capital and Cinven are financing their purchase of a further 28.3% stake in Stada Arzneimittel, the German pharmaceutical group, in the euro leveraged finance markets this week, and are having to contend with investors who are in a risk-averse mood.