HSBC

The hail of issuance in European corporate bonds continued at full pelt on Wednesday as Orange and National Grid joined the fray with multi-tranche deals. Investors and issuers seem equally eager to do business.

Demand for the Republic of Finland’s latest bond was high on Wednesday as it printed through the ECB deposit rate to sell “the most expensive syndication of all time”, according to a banker on the deal. The five year note came 29.9bp richer than Austria’s previous record holding deal, another five year note sold in June.

The Province of Quebec slipped into the sterling market on Wednesday to print a fresh £250m December 2024 bond.

SSA issuers were out in the dollar market with $7bn of new bonds on Wednesday, though the biggest of the deals highlighted how price sensitive investors were in a world where some yield curves have inverted.

Louis Dreyfus Asia has boosted the size of its annual borrowing to $650m from $500m after receiving commitments from 31 lenders.

Europe's corporate bond market opened emphatically for business on Tuesday, as seven issuers banished all memories of the summer holiday. Despite there being plenty of choice for investors, demand was high across the board. Multiple deals were two to three times oversubscribed, while the largest, a €3.5bn four trancher from Siemens, the machinery maker, was nearly 4.5 times covered.

The dollar SSA market has started the short week on the front foot, with a trio of trades hitting screens on Tuesday.

HSBC France and Svenska Handelsbanken avoided issuing senior bonds at negative yields in a busy new issue market on Tuesday, but bankers said it was only a 'matter of time' before someone takes the plunge below 0% with an unsecured deal.

The UK Debt Management Office has announced that it is planning to reopen its 2054 Gilt through syndication in the week beginning September 9.

KBC only needed to offer a slim new issue premium to attract €2bn of demand for a new tier two bond this week. The deal pricing was squeezed by 20bp from initial price thoughts, resembling senior deals from other issuers.

China’s Joy City Property has returned to the loan market for an up to $800m facility.

South Korean conglomerate Lotte has filed documents for the IPO of a real estate investment trust (REIT), looking to raise up to W430bn ($353m).