Europe

Buzzi Unicem, the Italian cement and concrete group, is planning a European-targeted bond issue to tackle €510m of debt maturities this year.

Spanish property investment company Merlin Properties issued its debut bond on Thursday and found a roaring reception from investors, like many of its compatriots that have issued in the past fortnight.

Hungarian oil and gas firm MOL Group is planning to refinance a five year credit facility and has also mandated banks for a euro-denominated bond, its first in the currency in four years.

Iberdrola, the Spanish electricity and gas company, issued its second green bond on Thursday, and increased the 10 year deal to €1bn in response to strong demand.

Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) is meeting investors for what would be its first syndicated dollar benchmark trade.

Hungary opened books for a three year offshore renminbi bond on Thursday with initial price guidance set at 6.50%. The deal is not only the debut RMB offering from the Hungarian government, but also the first public dim sum bond since November 2015.

Equity capital markets bankers are digesting this morning’s announcement by the Financial Conduct Authority that it might change the rules about IPOs in the UK, as part of its study of competitiveness in investment and corporate banking.

Aroundtown Property Holdings, the Paris- and Frankfurt-listed company that invests in German property turnrounds, has extended the deadline on an incentivised conversion offer for its €450m pre-IPO convertible until Thursday evening.

The European Investment Bank has announced its intentions to build a benchmark curve in Polish zloty, selling the first public trade in the currency from an SSA issuer.

L-Bank and the African Development Bank are set to be the latest issuers this week to take advantage of rising short end dollar swap spreads, mandating for deals on Wednesday after Finland printed a short dated deal of its own.

A trio of public sector borrowers comfortably printed at the long end of the euro curve on Wednesday, but the deals suggested a slowdown in demand after a bumper April for the currency.

The London Stock Exchange’s Orderbook for Retail Bonds (Orb) is about to reach £185m ($260.05m) of issuance so far this year, after Burford Capital’s £75m bond announcement on Wednesday.