Loans and High Yield

Cifi Holdings (Group) Co raised Rmb1bn ($145.7m) on Thursday from its maiden offshore renminbi bond.

The €6bn debt funding for AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals’ buyout has some lawyers, bookrunners and investors in the European leveraged finance markets agonising over what they describe as an exercise in private equity firms flexing their muscles.

Borrowers are unloading a still increasing number of new deals in the leveraged debt primary markets in September, hoping to find sufficient demand. But investor appetite, while supportive, is showing a selective taste this week.

Like many corporate bond market participants Bluebay Asset Management has been keeping a close eye on the volatility that has been and likely will be further caused by emerging markets, political events in Italy and the ongoing Brexit negotiations.

Exchange group Chicago Board Options Exchange Global Markets on Monday launched high yield corporate bond index futures, in collaboration with data firm IHS Markit and Blackrock.

The deal flow of high yield bonds kept rising in euros and sterling this week. Four new issuers joined the already heavy pipeline, including a euro bond from UK premium car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover.

Sterling leveraged loan volumes are on the rise, even as sterling high yield bond volumes have been heavily curtailed, said Marlborough Partners this week.

The UK’s RPC Group is in talks with two private equity firms for a potential sale, with the plastics packaging company’s pre-acquisition leverage well below covenant breaching levels.

Weak emerging market investor sentiment is dragging on Indonesian high yield bonds, with market watchers blaming the dive on a spill-over effect from other emerging markets. But there are still some silver linings for the island nation.

Taiwan-listed agro-chemical maker Rotam Global Agrosciences is tapping the loan market for $100m to refinance debt.

Issuers and debt bankers in Asia have their eyes fixed on the coming week for primary deal flow to gather momentum, following a relatively slow pace of issuance at the start of September.

China’s drug developer Luye Pharma Group has launched a $300m loan into general, to back the acquisition of two antipsychotic medical products.