JP Morgan

Hong Kong IPO hopefuls Babytree Group and Tongcheng-Elong Holdings announced deals drastically smaller than their initial targets this week. But despite the clear sign of trouble in the market, a few more Chinese companies are considering pushing ahead with their own listings before the end of the month. Jonathan Breen reports.

Gazprom on Tuesday sold the first public international bond from Russia since a punitive round of US sanctions was put on the country in April.

Bank of China returned to the bond market with a multi-tranche, multi-currency bond this week, making clear that its funding needs and its role as a flag-bearer of Chinese policy overseas are inextricably linked. Morgan Davis reports.

Fosun Tourism Group, which is being spun-off by Chinese conglomerate Fosun International, has launched investor education for its Hong Kong IPO as the market falters amid continued volatility.

Russian giant Gazprom and Ukrainian oil and gas firm Naftogaz, who have been locking horns in court, both chose Tuesday to release price guidance for new Eurobonds. The Gazprom deal will be the first public international bond from a Russian issuer since the US sanctions that shook the market in April. The Naftogaz bond is its first since 2009.

Two Hong Kong IPO hopefuls have taken different approaches to their transactions. Tencent-backed Tongcheng-Elong Holdings launched its smaller listing of up to HK$1.8bn ($232.4m) on Tuesday, while Babytree has put its planned float on hold.

The $450m IPO of Kazatomprom, the Kazakh state-owned producer of natural uranium, is due to be priced at $11.60, the bottom of the initial range, valuing the business at $3bn.

Online travel service provider Tongcheng-Elong Holdings is set to launch a truncated Hong Kong IPO on Tuesday after key comparable Ctrip’s stock price collapsed amid volatility last week, according to a source close to the deal.

Chinese technology giant Baidu grabbed $1bn from a bond on Thursday, while a local government financing vehicle (LGFV) in Hunan raised $300m from a deal that was less than twice covered at its peak.

TFI Tab Food Investments, the owner of the Burger King chain in Turkey and China, has formally withdrawn its $220m IPO in the US after delaying it in February.

The European Financial Stability Facility finished off its 2018 issuance this week with what was likely the last jumbo euro benchmark of the year. The deal was solid, but SSA bankers warned the euro market feels “tired”.

Volkswagen printed the biggest trade in its history as high-grade corporate borrowers blitzed the dollar market in response to the results of the US mid-term elections.