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International investors this week enthusiastically bought a $500m ‘sustainable transition bond’ issued by Marfrig, the second biggest Brazilian beef producer. The deal highlighted its efforts to make its supply chain more sustainable. But Greenpeace, the environmental NGO, argues it is impossible to be sure the supply chain does not include harmful practices.

The latest idea captivating sustainable finance enthusiasts is transition bonds.

Marfrig Global Foods, the Brazilian beef producer, has stirred up the green finance market by issuing a $500m ‘sustainable transition bond’. To some, it is a template for a new asset class that can help finance the global economy’s shift to lower carbon emissions. To others, it is a shocking case of greenwashing. By Oliver West and Jon Hay.

Hungarian gas and oil company MOL has extended part of an existing €555m revolving credit facility by one year, in what is one of the few sparks of activity in the country's syndicated loan market so far this year.

Porsche AG, maker of Porsche sports cars, closed a green Schuldschein this week, with pricing and allocation set for Friday. The final size is rumoured to be €1bn, with an order book far exceeding that.

Brazilian meatpacker Marfrig is looking to fund cattle purchases that meet its environmental and sustainability criteria through a debt sale that the company is describing as a “sustainable transition” bond.

Russia's largest producer of anthracite coal, Siberian Anthracite, is expected to complete a loan refinancing in September. The deal will see Sibanthracite switch its existing loan facility from dollars to euros, as bankers offer a number of reasons for the switch, including preventative protection from sanctions and the elimination of operational delays.

Cofco International, a commodities trading unit of China’s agri-products company Cofco, has increased its sustainability-linked loan to $2.3bn after receiving commitments from 21 lenders.

Polish convenience store operator Żabka Polska is expected to close its dividend recap imminently, according to market participants. Bankers have compared the deal to the dividend recap transaction that Polish e-commerce platform Allegro completed in May.

Shandong Qingyuan Group Co, a Chinese petrochemical company, has made a quick return to the loan market with a $750m syndicated facility, six months after closing a club deal.

Despite the gloomy macro-economic outlook, conditions remained good for corporate bond issuers in Europe this week. Investor appetite was high and supply low, as some bankers, investors and issuers holidayed, and issuers headed into earnings blackout periods.

Budweiser Brewing Company Apac shelved what could have been the largest float globally so far this year and the biggest in nearly a decade in Hong Kong after investors rejected its punchy valuation target, dealing a blow to the city’s IPO market.