Goldman Sachs

Investment grade corporate bond issuance has slowed right down on Wednesday, as issuers and investors are getting cautious before the European Central Bank monetary policy meeting on Thursday.

Chinese issuers Country Garden Holdings Co, Guangxi Communications Investment Group Corp and Shuifa Group, all of which have investment-grade ratings, have sold well-supported dollar bonds to investors.

Swedish credit management company Intrum this week completed a €850m issue of new senior notes, pricing at 3% and increasing the size of the offering from the initial €750m. UK-based gambling giant International Game Technology also dipped into the “most issuer-friendly market ever” with €500m bond.

The sustainability-linked bond issued by Enel on Thursday opens a new chapter in the green finance market. Anyone tempted to think this will be a freak should think again. The idea is sure to catch on.

KfW won huge praise from on-looking bankers for a curve extending and rare 10 year dollar green bond on Tuesday. The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and Österreichische Kontrollbank (OeKB) also enjoyed success in the dollar primary market with three year trades, with the former selling its debut Sofr-linked floating rate note.

IHS, a telecoms provider based in Nigeria, hit screens on Tuesday for a dual tranche bond. The proceeds will go to finance a tender offer of the issuer’s outstanding paper.

The first deal of the September rush set an impressive bar for a rush of borrowing from its peers in the commodities sector. Russia's Severstal pulled off an $800m five year bond priced flat to its curve, achieving the lowest yield ever for a corporate from the region.

Chinese real estate developer Longfor Group Holdings raised $850m from a 10 year bond on Monday, taking advantage of a recent ratings upgrade that led to a rally in its secondary price.

Corporate bond issuers made full use of the last few days before the European Central Bank's much-anticipated announcement on monetary policy on Thursday. Despite the hectic activity of the past two weeks, investors were still oversubscribing deals two or three times.

One of the world’s largest companies made its debut in the yen bond market last week, as Berkshire Hathaway placed ¥430bn ($4bn) of multi-tranche debt. With the Japanese government yield curve offering sub-zero returns for anything under 15 years, the six tranche deal offered investors a chance to earn a yield pick-up, according to bankers away from the deal.

Swedish credit management company Intrum and UK-based gambling giant International Game Technology dipped into the favourable markets again with big €750m and €500m issues .

KfW mandated banks for its longest ever dollar green bond on Monday, while the Inter-American Development Bank is taking indications of interest for its inaugural Sofr-linked floating rate note.