HSBC

Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings (CKI) is on track for a comeback to the dollar hybrid bond market, while India’s National Thermal Power Corp kicked off bookbuilding for a 10 year Reg S offering on Monday.

HSBC booked the lion’s share of its 2015 earnings from Asia, with the region contributing to more than 80% of the group’s profits before tax as the bank continues to look eastward for growth. But there are challenges ahead, with the firm under investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its hiring practices.

Macquarie issued its inaugural covered bond on Thursday, meeting a strong reception with the five year €500m paper twice subscribed by investors. Westpac has also opened books on a $1.35bn deal, as Fitch said it expects Australian covered bond issuance to rise this year.

A healthy pair of benchmarks this week and strong conditions mean the euro market is wide open for a pair of supranationals to bring planned deals next week.

Nordic Investment Bank has printed the second dollar benchmark from an SSA this week, as issuers contend with the effects on pricing of negative swap spreads.

Hong Kong’s MTR Corp has a reputation for recalibrating pricing in the region’s syndicated loan market and its latest HK$15bn ($1.9bn) dual-tranche facility is no different. The company has returned to the market after a gap of nearly 10 years, but its long absence is unlikely to pose a challenge, writes Shruti Chaturvedi.

The Asia ex-Japan primary bond market got off to a blazing restart after the Chinese New Year holidays with the Republic of the Philippines raising $2bn from a popular accelerated one-day switch plus new money transaction.

Romania is offering a 20bp new issue premium on taps of its euro-denominated 2025 and 2035 bonds, according to a lead manager on the trade.

Nordic Investment Bank is preparing a three year dollar benchmark, following a KfW five year deal that had to brave a backdrop of negative swap spreads.

Glencore's core relationship banks showed strong support for its refinancing of a $8.45bn one-year loan, despite volatility for commodities and a recent downgrade for the mining and trading firm.

SSA issuers have come through a battering time in markets to print euro deals, with Austria hitting the long end of the curve and BNG also printing. But the scars are showing as KfW is demonstrating in the dollar market.

Investors have only been offered a tap of a Bahrain bond in the CEEMEA primary market this week so far, but it has been far from quiet as other events and people moves in EM caught the eye.