Europe

Secondary bond traders in the SSA and covered bond markets are focussed on Tuesday’s European Union new issue amid hopes that it will help draw a line as far as secondary market weakness is concerned. But with one eye on the European Central Bank’s June meeting, there is still some trepidation about prospective cuts in central bank asset purchasing.

UBM Development, the Austrian property company, issued last week what it believes is the eurozone’s first sustainability-linked retail bond — bringing one of the hottest techniques in corporate finance to a traditional market that has dwindled in the recent climate of negative interest rates.

TD Securities has hired a senior debt capital markets syndicate banker from SMBC Nikko Capital Markets in London, to handle new issues from corporate and financial issuers.

A slew of SSA issuers hit screens on Monday to announce dollar benchmarks. Despite the crowded market, dollar deals — particularly at the short end of the curve — are expected to be well received.

The IPO of Suse, the German open source software company, was in high demand as it closed the order books on its Frankfurt listing.

Hedosophia European Growth, a new special purpose acquisition company sponsored by UK investor Ian Osborne, has listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, raising €400m.

The IPO of Trifork, the Danish software company, on Nasdaq Copenhagen is oversubscribed on the full deal size, according to a source close to the deal.

PKN Orlen, the Polish oil refiner and petrol retailer, began marketing its debut green bond on Monday, a €500m no-grow seven year. Issuing a green bond would be a bold move for an oil company, but PKN Orlen is being conservative about the assets included and has obtained certification from the Climate Bonds Initiative.

The SSA bond market in euros weakened considerably over the last week and borrowers and bankers alike are eyeing the upcoming EU benchmark issuance with trepidation.

United Overseas Bank and Raiffeisen-Landesbank Steiermark (RFLBST) have mandated leads for covered bond deals amid a weakening spread environment.

A deal-hungry retail investor base provided crucial support for a strong first few months of the year in Russian equity capital markets, and sources in Moscow are hopeful that the momentum will carry on through 2021 as the political noise that threatened to derail the market subsides.

Île-de-France Mobilités, the state-owned authority for public transport in the Île-de-France region, is set to make its first trip to the green bond market. The borrower intends to use green bonds for around 60% of its financing needs until the end of 2025.