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The environmental, social and governance (ESG) agenda finally arrived in equity capital markets in 2020 with a flurry of activity across IPOs and convertible bonds.

Equity capital markets advisors had their work cut out for them in 2020. Throughout the year, their services were in high demand due to everything from Covid-related recapitalisations and marquee IPOs for technology-sector stars, to a resurgent equity-linked market, a boom in special purpose acquisition companies, and rising investments in unlisted equity.

Investment bankers tend to always talk about standing behind their corporate clients in tough times. Last year HSBC stood out for putting those words into action.

In this round-up, China’s State Council assigns tasks to different regulatory bodies to implement the government’s goals for this year, the central bank confirms its policy stance of ‘no sharp turns’, and Haitong Securities is punished for allegedly failing to control risks.

Last year GlobalCapital was forced to abandon our 2019 Equity Capital Markets Awards dinner because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Little did we know that what seemed like a brief crisis would transform all our lives in the way it has. But despite the huge pressure of the virus and its dramatic impact on stockmarkets, the equity capital markets rose to the challenge in 2020, enabling many companies to raise vital capital to mend broken balance sheets and even to complete IPOs, all without executives having to leaving their home countries — or even their homes. After an extraordinary year, GlobalCapital is pleased to recognise the truly outstanding achievements in ECM.

Austrian utility company Verbund this week did something no European issuer has ever done when it sold a single bond that had its use of proceeds tied to green and sustainability-linked metrics. This is an excellent development for the ESG market, and finally covers glaring weak spots in the effectiveness of green bonds.

Horse racing is a way of life in Hong Kong. It is also just one part of life that has been changed dramatically by the coronavirus.

GlobalCapital is pleased to reveal the winners and nominees of its 2020 Equity Capital Markets Awards.

As emerging market IPOs continue to draw investors into countries many have never invested before, Turkey remains an obvious absentee. The country could be an EM equity giant but political decisions by its government continue to hinder Turkish businesses.

Tagging assets to liabilities is a critical exercise for covered bond issuers, particularly when it comes to their ESG paper. Start-up mortgage lender Perenna is working with Tao Solutions to create a verifiable audit trail with technology that automatically matches green covered bonds to the appropriate mortgage loans.

The shock sacking of Turkey’s third central bank governor in two years confirms to investors that the country lives in a world of its own — one in which central bank independence and fiscal prudence come second to the ideologies of the leader.

New Hong Kong-listed companies are increasingly seeing muted aftermarket trading, rather than sweeping gains on their debuts. However, this shouldn’t be mistaken for a dip in investor sentiment in the stock market. It's instead a sign of strength for the bourse.