ING

Russian gold miner Nordgold and coal company Siberian Coal Energy Co (suek) signed syndicated loans in the week leading up to Vladimir Putin’s victory in the Russian general elections.

Corporate bond issuers who sold their deals earlier the week found execution much easier than those who came later in the week. Strong order books and single digit new issue premiums gave way to premiums of as much as 20bp and one deal having to be downsized.

Sanofi, the French pharmaceutical company, this week priced the largest European corporate bond deal of 2018 — an €8bn six-tranche deal. The company used only European banks as global co-ordinators for the sale, as the euro market proved that it is a viable market for jumbo financings.

Volkswagen’s real estate arm launched a debut green Schuldschein on Wednesday, the first of the year.

The day after a jumbo corporate bond issue is often a quiet one for new issuance as investors digest their allocations and assess the impact on secondary spreads. But after Sanofi's €8bn offering on Wednesday, Thursday was another bumper day.

ING Groep issued two tranches of tier two debt in euros and dollars on Thursday, coughing up premium to print the third tier two of the week.

Citigroup and Svenska Handelsbanken were both offering senior bonds in euros on Wednesday, as bankers started to question whether the primary market could continue to support large volumes of new issuance.

Tikehau Capital, the French alternative investment manager, has committed a €250m order for the IPO of DWS Group and has initiated discussions on potential cooperation between the two firms, including on alternative asset management distribution.

A unit of Puma Energy is in the loan market, seeking $1.1bn across three tranches, according to a banker who received the invitation.

B&S Group, the Dutch consumer goods distribution specialist, has opened the books for its listing on the Amsterdam stock exchange, the second Dutch company to set a price range for its IPO this week.

After a reasonable wait, investors are starting to see the more frequent investment grade corporate bond issuers return to the market. On Tuesday, French materials company Saint-Gobain and French telecoms operator Orange sold benchmark deals and UK media company WPP sold a dual-tranche issue.

Solusi Tunas Pratama is set to begin marketing a new $590m-equivalent financing in dollars and rupiah to retail lenders, said bankers close to the trade.