Goldman Sachs

The latest chapter in the US-China trade war resulted in some serious market turmoil this month. But Hong Kong seems to have avoided the worst of the volatility: the city’s stock exchange approved four applications and each issuer has hit the road. Will investors bite? Gina Lee and Jonathan Breen report.

Berry Global, the US plastic packaging maker, will raise bonds to finance its purchase of UK plastics maker RPC Group, it said on Wednesday. The debt raising will feature $3bn of senior secured notes in two tranches. This marks the end of leveraged finance bankers' hopes that the auction of RPC would deliver substantial new money supply to the European market.

Nordic Investment Bank funding officials considered printing its $1bn bond this week inside its curve before deciding against the ruse in order to support secondary trading, with Japan Bank of International Co-operation next in line to test the vast demand for five year dollar bonds.

Chinese drug services provider Frontage Holdings Corp has kicked off bookbuilding for its IPO, vying for proceeds of up to HK$1.60bn ($204.6m).

Trade war concerns and US title insurer Fidelity National Information Service’s eight tranche €6.44bn equivalent deal crowded out issuers from the corporate euro investment grade market on Tuesday, bankers and investors said. But several are hopeful that deal flow could pick up later in the week.

There has been no covered message sent on the IPO of Finablr, the financial holding company which owns Travelex, though the deal is set to close today, Monday May 13. The banks are still working hard to close the book on schedule.

Arabian Centres Company (ACC), the owner and operator of Saudi retail malls, has priced its IPO at the bottom of its original range, winning local support for one of the largest deals from the Kingdom in years.

Shandong-based coal miner Yankuang Group Co was able to price a $500m tap almost 30bp inside where the existing notes were trading on Thursday, while E-House (China) Enterprise Holdings, a real estate services firm, also added $100m to an outstanding bond.

Rating: Aaa/AAA/AAA

The strength of corporate bond demand, after falls in stockmarkets engendered by the US's hardened stance on trade talks with China, was tested in the US on Wednesday by a $20bn issue for IBM. In Europe, the test came on Thursday, as five companies finished roadshows and issued. So far the signs are very encouraging - good news for the clutch of companies still on the road.

Rating: A2/A+/A+

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank placed itself among the very top supranational names in the capital markets this week when its highly anticipated debut bond was priced in line with the likes of the World Bank and European Investment Bank. AIIB aims to become a regular issuer of debt, issuing across various currencies and structures to build a diversified funding programme.