JP Morgan

The Republic of the Philippines opened books for a dollar-denominated 10 year bond on Monday morning, making it the first Asian sovereign to visit the international debt market in 2019.

China Aoyuan Group stayed a step ahead of its property peers by raising a comfortable $275m from a tap of its 2021 notes on Thursday, one of two dollar bonds to be priced in Asia so far in the new year.

It is with much sadness that we have to report the death of John Lee-Tin.

Emerging market issuers are hesitant to rush back into the market in the new year. Most are waiting on the sidelines until the tone becomes more settled and investor desks are fully staffed.

Berkshire Hathaway was one of five issuers to brave choppy conditions on Thursday and open the dollar market with the first trades of 2019.

Uzbekistan could announce roadshow dates as early as next week, having put ratings in place and picked banks for its debut Eurobond.

Africa Finance Corp has raised a $300m loan facility from a consortium of international lenders.

JP Morgan brings back healthcare banker — Malaysia slaps first 1MDB charges on Goldman

GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer have agreed to combine their consumer health businesses to create a market leading joint venture with sales of around £9.8bn. The companies expect to divest assets to cover the cash cost of the integration.

The Middle East has been fuelling business in the CEEMEA bond and loan markets for the last 12 months. That looks set to persist in 2019, when the region’s big hitters are expected to come with multi-billion dollar financing needs to both markets. Michael Turner and Francesca Young report.

Battling a host of problems — local and global — Latin American bond markets suffered a torrid 2018. Many issuers stayed away, high yielders struggled to find financing and investors booked losses. With more volatility expected, political developments in LatAm’s three largest economies could make or break the region’s bond markets in 2019. Oliver West reports.

Mergers and acquisitions in Europe are back. But what loans bankers have long hoped would be great news for their businesses is in most cases turning out to be a far less lucrative development, as companies increasingly turn to smaller banking groups to finance their acquisition plans. By Michael Turner.