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French engineering services company Akka doubled its initial €200m launch size to just over €400m. With rising participation from Asian and European commercial bank lenders, issuers from the technology sector are finding higher levels of interest in the Schuldschein market.

Swiss food and drinks company Nestlé extended and replaced €11bn worth of one and five year loans on Wednesday.

Credit Suisse has expanded the responsibilities of two veteran bankers, naming one as the chairman of its Hong Kong operation and another as chief executive for Greater China.

ING has scooped a Deutsche Bank veteran to lead its corporate finance and client coverage divisions in Asia.

Italian gas utility Snam repeated the new issue-and-tender strategy it used in 2016 as it printed its third ever 10 year bond on Tuesday. The company was not able to replicate the zero new issue premium it achieved 12 months ago, but did still price at a very tight spread.

German filter maker Mann+Hummel has joined the flock of borrowers issuing green Schuldscheine, raising €400m with a multitranche deal that closed on Wednesday.

High yield and emerging market crossover issuer Puma Energy saw demand of more than $2bn for a seven year non-call three year bond on Tuesday, prompting the issuer to slash pricing and increase the size of the trade.

Norsk Hydro completed its buyout of fellow Norwegian aluminium producer Sapa, valued at Nkr27bn ($3.38bn) on Monday, drawing in part on its existing five year revolving credit facility.

Sustainability is a term used liberally and vaguely in the financial world. But it has a precise meaning: living so that we do not make it harder for future generations to live. That principle is violated by today’s economy, including its financial markets. But little by little, the heart of markets — the decisions investors make — is facing up to what it has long repressed. Jon Hay reports.

The much sought after trend for green bonds to outperform conventional paper in secondary trading is now a reality, according to public sector borrowers — but perhaps only for those with enough dots on their green curves to provide a comparison.

Asia’s green finance story is not just about China and India. Although the US has threatened to pull out of the Paris Agreement, southeast Asia has reiterated its commitment to sustainability. As Morgan Davis reports, that is beginning to be felt in its financial markets, where countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia are exploring ways to foster green financing.

Automotive finance companies rarely issue corporate bonds with tenors longer than four or five years, due to the assets they need to fund. This week, however, three of them sold five year bonds.