Europe

The Swedish National Debt Office has revised downward its forecast for foreign currency bond issuance in 2016 and 2017 after receiving higher than expected tax payments.

HSBC’s Asian business gained momentum last year, with the bank booking the lion’s share of its earnings from the region. But there are challenges ahead, with the firm under investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its hiring practices.

Areva, the nuclear power construction firm 87% owned by the French government, has signed a €1.1bn bridge loan with six banks to “ensure the company’s liquidity for the 2016 fiscal year”.

Nyrstar, the Belgian zinc producer, has successfully completed the sale of all the new shares on offer in its rights issue, after selling the rump of the deal in an accelerated bookbuild on Wednesday.

Grand City Properties issued its fourth convertible bond on Wednesday, raising €450m, more than the other three deals put together. The German housing company capitalised on the successful performance of its earlier deals to win €2.5bn of demand and strong terms.

Delta Lloyd, the Dutch insurance company, bowed to investor pressure and cut the size of its planned rights issue by a third on Wednesday, to €650m.

Apax made on Tuesday night its first selldown of stock in Auto Trader, the UK car sales website, since floating the business last March. As had been expected after the IPO was increased, Apax was able to sell virtually its whole remaining stake in one go.

A Dutch agency has become the latest public sector borrower to dip into a record breaking sterling market for the year so far, after mandating banks on Wednesday for a deal.

The Swedish National Debt Office has revised downward its forecast for foreign currency bond issuance in 2016 and 2017 after receiving higher than expected tax payments.

Pirelli will not refinance its €6.8bn acquisition bridge loan in the bond market as planned. A torpid high yield bond market has spooked the borrower away from capital markets and back to bank loans.

Genus, the bovine and porcine genetics company, retained all of its relationship banks when it signed a £160m revolving credit facility on Monday.

Santander Consumer Finance opened up a new Tokyo Pro-Bond programme worth €10bn on Tuesday, following a similar move from its UK sister borrower last year.