Loans and High Yield

Indian electricity utility firm Tata Power has mandated five banks to lead a $245m borrowing, ending a two year hiatus from the offshore loan market.

Qinghai Provincial Investment Group Co successfully redeemed its $300m bond this week, giving a boost to its entire secondary curve and ending months of speculation about a possible default. But its debt-related troubles are not over just yet, writes Addison Gong.

Cifi Holdings Group Co added $300m to its existing 2022 bonds on Wednesday as it got ahead of the expected supply pipeline, but the real estate company was forced to pay a juicy premium for the deal.

Asian equities showed mixed responses to the increase in the federal funds rate announced by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) on Wednesday night, while bonds in the region held up reasonably well. But there are worries that the pace of rate hikes until the end of 2019 might be too aggressive.

Europe’s leveraged finance issuance is fast catching up with last year’s record volumes, as investors open deep pockets. But the reverse side of this exuberance are weaker terms and more vulnerable issuers, said market watchers.

US asset manager Pinebridge is positive on credit markets in the short to medium term, but the outperformance of assets in the past three years has increased the probability for a credit downturn according to a recent report it published.

Qinghai Provincial Investment Group Co is expected to be able to redeem its $300m bond that matured on Wednesday, ending months of speculation about its ability to meet its debt obligation.

Luxury auto dealership China Zhengtong Auto Services is seeking an up to $150m three year loan, offering banks margin and fees that are identical to a borrowing sealed in January.

Investment house Muzinich has hired Paul Suter to trade European high yield bonds.

General Electric’s distributed power unit began marketing a $1.8bn leveraged buyout loan. The deal has high net leverage and tight pricing guidance, two of the possible risks in the market underlined by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) this week.

The lengthy complaint about HSBC management drafted, purportedly, by investment bankers within the firm must be taken seriously and investigated, if its new CEO John Flint wants to win the confidence of the rest of the staff and shareholders.

Spain’s largest department store group, El Corte Inglés, picked a busy week to roadshow its first rated issue. But its bonds will be listed in Dublin, despite efforts from the Spanish financial regulator to force a domestic bond listing in Madrid.