HSBC

KfW and the European Investment Bank mandated banks on Wednesday for the first sterling SSA deals of the year. Public sector borrowers are looking to pile into the sterling market before the crunch vote by the UK Parliament on Theresa May’s Brexit deal in mid-January, with deals expected in both Sonia-linked and fixed rate formats.

The global high yield bond market has produced $320bn of new issues in 2018, up to December 21, 43% down on last year’s total of $563bn, according to Dealogic. Sentiment has turned progressively more bearish as the year has worn on, with concerns about US-China trade hostility and overvaluation of US equities biting.

Capital instruments issued by financial institutions under previous regulatory regimes was a topic of contention in several instances this year. With regulators set to lay down further positions, legacy capital will remain on the agenda in 2019.

Hungary’s latest Panda looks, at least on paper, like a club deal rather than a genuine syndicated bond, with bankers disagreeing on how the deal might have played out in the market.

Chinese property companies are pushing their fund-raising for 2018 to the bitter end – with sometimes surprising results. Cifi Holdings scored with a larger-than-expected $400m bond on Monday, while Redsun Properties Group sold a $200m tap.

The Netherlands will look to issue around €4bn-€6bn with a maturity of at least 15 years in its debut green bond, which will be sold through a Dutch Direct Auction in the second quarter of 2019.

A revolution is occurring in the Schuldschein market. This sedate and sober instrument has shaken its fusty reputation and transformed into a bustling hotbed of technological progress. Seven digital platforms sprang up in 2018, each declaring a grand ambition to drive efficiency. But with platforms jockeying for position, under the eye of the German regulator, some question the rate of change and the authenticity of some agents of it.

Zhongyu Gas Holding has returned to the offshore loan market for its second borrowing this year, offering a $250m three year facility.

Equate Group, the Kuwaiti petrochemical producer, has amended and extended its $1.9bn term loan and $1bn revolving credit facility, achieving a reduction in pricing and strong demand from international lenders.

Xinyi Energy Group (XYE) has cancelled its potential HK$4.5bn ($575.8m) IPO in response to choppy markets. It was planning to debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on December 21.

HSBC’s head of global markets Thibaut de Roux left the bank in September, following an accusation of inappropriate conduct from a junior female employee, according to reports from Bloomberg.

Chinese telecommunication software provider AsiaInfo Technologies raised HK$900m ($115m) this week after pricing its flotation at the bottom of the indicative range.