Deutsche Bank

Five issuers from core Europe priced covered bonds this week but the standout success, which could have been priced without the European Central Bank’s help, was the first Austrian deal of the year from Erste Bank.

Scandinavian Tobacco, the manufacturer of cigars and pipe tobacco, launched its all secondary initial public offering on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange on Thursday, with the release of an intention to float statement.

Euro issuance had been subdued this week, with issuers reluctant to clash with AB InBev's $46bn deal, but it picked up hours before the brewer's launch on Wednesday.

A series of oversubscribed deals among core issuers could encourage Austria to seek a print in the current market.

A trio of Spanish issuers launched the first covered bonds of the year from southern Europe this week but, with peripheral spreads widening sharply, conditions are not conducive to further supply.

The UK High Court has said that a former Deutsche Bank trader’s suit to claim crisis-era bonus payments “has no realistic prospect of success”.

The Government of Mongolia has picked six banks to work on a 144A/Reg S bond that may hit the market as early as next week.

Volatility in Chinese equity and foreign exchange markets is spooking investors but the cheaper RMB and more reasonable valuations for A-shares might provide an ideal entry point for investment into the Mainland.

Anheuser-Busch InBev has brought its jumbo acquisition financing to the US corporate bond market on Wednesday, after days of speculation over when it would arrive. But that did not deter Telecom Italia and Mondelez from issuing in the European market.

Telecom Italia brought the first telecoms bond deal of the year to the European market on Wednesday, tapping both high yield and investment grade investors.

Pohjola Bank and NordLB paid slim new issue concessions for five year senior debt on Wednesday, but market participants pointed to the dangers of pushing spreads in too tightly.

China Nonferrous Metal Mining and Vista Land & Lifescapes are meeting investors ahead of their respective dollar offerings, while Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology is set to gauge interest in Europe for a euro-denominated deal.