Loans and High Yield

Leveraged finance markets in Europe are looking up, and bankers expect they may even see some deals priced before long.

Profit Reach International, an investment vehicle owned by Chinese billionaire businessman Shen Guojun, has returned to the loan market for a $550m refinancing.

Guangzhou R&F Properties has priced its second dollar bond of the year, capturing investors ahead of what is expected to be another busy week for Asia’s primary debt market.

Shandong Huifeng Petrochemical Group is tapping the offshore loan market for the first time, seeking a $200m two year borrowing.

The new European Leveraged Finance Alliance investor group is set to become a fixture of the market, participants say, but guesses about its long term impact are disparate.

Country Garden Holdings (CoGard) raised $1bn from a two-part deal, hitting its size goal and finding the money it needs to refinance some of its maturing debt.

Larry Fink, chief executive of BlackRock, became one of the most namechecked people in the responsible investing movement in 2018 when he affirmed that “Companies must benefit all of their stakeholders, including shareholders, employees, customers and the communities in which they operate.”

Maintaining confidence in the system relies on trust that leaders — those selected for their competence and character to set the course for the rest of us — are well informed, able to communicate with others at their level and take decisions that serve the interests of those they lead.

The size of a radical debt restructuring proposed this week by New Look, the UK fashion retailer fighting for survival, caught some by surprise. But high yield bankers and investors agreed that this event will not shut the market as the Phones 4U debacle did four years ago.

Kangde Xin Composite Material Group looks likely to be one of the first Asian issuers to default on a dollar bond in 2019, with missed payments onshore expected to trigger a cross default.

Greenland Holding Group has taken the first step towards refinancing its 2019 maturities, pricing a $300m bond in a busy period for Chinese real estate issuers.

BNP Paribas has hired numerous bankers to bolster its corporate and institutional banking presence in the Nordic countries, including senior bankers in equity and derivatives roles.