HSBC

HSBC Global Asset Management on Tuesday became the first international investment firm to launch an RQFII bond fund that will focus on the Chinese bond market. The firm will be using an RQFII quota that it was granted in 2013, and plans shortly to launch more products through its London business, which recently received its own quota.

London may be ahead of its European rivals when it comes to offering renminbi services but UK companies lag their European peers in take-up of the currency. This is partly because Britain has a much smaller manufacturing base than France or Germany, but as China looks to import more services, this will benefit UK plc.

Paper and packaging company Mondi has signed a deal to extend the maturity of a €750m revolving credit facility from 2016 to 2019.

IDBI Bank is meeting investors for what would be India’s first international offering under Basel III regulation, opening to door to further issues from the country's lenders.

Romeet Shankardass has left his role as a director in the loan syndication group at Citi to take up a new position at HSBC.

Lai Sun Garment (International) is hitting the road this week for its inaugural offshore renminbi bond. The Hong Kong company is looking to venture into a market that has already generated a record volume of deals.

French ingredients company Naturex signed €320m of loan agreements on Thursday, part of which will be used to finance its acquisition of US company Vegetable Juices.

French supermarket chain Carrefour is in the process of amending and extending a three year credit facility it agreed in June 2013.

Jinchuan Group priced its debut international bond, a three CNH issue, on July 10. The 4.75% bonds were reoffered at 99.724% to yield 4.85%, and the deal was the first time a regional state owned enterprise (SOE) had tapped the offshore RMB market via China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) quota system.

Latin American issuers continue to pile up tightly-priced, heavily-oversubscribed bonds even as market worries over Portugal’s Banco Espirito Santo tinged trading in the region on Thursday.

Scentre, the new Australian listed property company that holds the Westfield Group’s Australian and New Zealand shopping centres, issued its first bonds on Tuesday, and turned to the European market. Despite a weak day, it exceeded its target of €2bn, finding strong demand for a rare four tranche issue in euros and sterling.

Europe’s corporate bond market was knocked sideways on Thursday by a gust of fear about peripheral Europe, after problems deepened at Portugal's Banco Espírito Santo. The market has not shut down, but ACS, the Spanish construction company, pulled a deal and no issuer managed to price tighter than its initial thoughts.