France

Parex Group, the French producer of chemicals for the building industry, began roadshowing on Monday for a €150m floating rate note, in the busiest month yet this year for the European high yield market.

UNITe, the French renewable energy producer, has completed its first green Euro private placement. The deal will allow the company to draw the funding in instalments, a new feature for Euro PPs, though common in the US PP market.

China’s decision to provide easier access to its bond market for foreign asset managers has not diminished the value of the renminbi qualified foreign institutional investor (RQFII) scheme, according to Matthieu Bailly, CEO at Octo Asset Management.

After over a month with no Obligations Foncières supply, Caisse Française de Financement Local (Caffil) and Compagnie de Financement Foncier (CFF) returned to the primary covered bond market on Monday.

Rating: Aa3/A/A+

Veolia Environnement, the French water, waste and power company, joined on Tuesday the parade of investment grade blue chip companies launching convertible bonds at attractive terms — in this case, a negative yield and very high conversion premium.

SMCP, the French fashion firm controlled by KKR, registered its document de base with regulators on Tuesday, in the first step towards a possible IPO.

After over a month with no French supply, Caffil and Compagnie de Financement Foncier returned to the primary market on Monday, respectively launching a tap and a new benchmark which both met with a strong reception.

Read on to see how French agencies have progressed through their 2016 funding programmes.

BNP Paribas reopened the euro tier two market on Friday with a sharply priced trade, the first capital deal of any sort from a European bank in over seven weeks.

Technip, the French oilfield services and engineering group, launched on Thursday evening a €75m tap of its €375m equity-neutral convertible bond, issued in January, for a further €75m, after the bond and stock had traded up strongly.

Prodware Group, the French software vendor, has issued a €79m Euro PP.