Loans and High Yield

S&P Global Ratings is preparing to launch an ESG Evaluation product, competing directly with socially responsible investment (SRI) rating firms such as MSCI and Sustainalytics.

The speculative grade loan market is leading leveraged finance issuance in Europe again, as investors pour more cash into the asset class. This week, Amundi opened its new leveraged loans Europe 2018 fund for institutional investors.

After selling €4.6bn of loans in March, Unilever Spreads unveiled the €1bn high yield bond portion of its leveraged buyout funding package on Wednesday. But as well as jumbo deals, other borrowers with smaller offerings are also vying for investor attention.

Digital advertising firm Yell added a new sub-benchmark deal to an otherwise lacklustre sterling high yield bond pipeline this week. The market is lagging more than £1bn ($1.4bn) behind 2017’s first quarter volumes.

Boutique investment bank SC Lowy signalled the potential it sees in the Italian banking sector through its acquisition of Credito di Romagna this week. Michel Löwy, CEO of the firm, also views it as a way to expand the firm’s European leveraged finance operations.

Asia’s syndicated loan market is offering razor-sharp funding to sovereign borrowers, and that is not just limited to the more developed countries in the market. Pakistan and Sri Lanka are returning to the market with $1.45bn of loans between them, and both look set to cut their pricing significantly. Pan Yue reports.

Indonesia’s Star Energy Geothermal raised $580m from its debut green bond this week, selling a deal that also had some of the hallmarks of a project finance deal — a rare combination in Asia’s credit market. But the deal hit several speed bumps along the way. Morgan Davis reports.

Coal mining company Mongolyn Alt (MAK) has further extended bookbuilding for its five year non-call two transaction, which is now expected to be priced in the week of April 23. The deal started taking orders officially on Tuesday.

Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup Joint Stock Company is seeking a $400m loan for its newly established car manufacturing business.

Several Chinese real estate companies, including Sunac China Holdings and Central China Real Estate, took advantage of relatively stable markets to ride the dollar issuance momentum this week. But supply pressure meant that many saw their bonds then trade under water.

Coal mining company Mongolyn Alt (MAK) is understood to have extended the bookbuilding process for a five non call two year transaction that was opened for orders on Tuesday.

Investors who can buy investment grade corporate bonds in a variety of currencies have been making the most of the relative value of dollar assets in recent years. However, the cost of hedging those assets has been steadily rising and is now at a point where such assets are looking much less attractive for non-US investors.