Loans and High Yield

European and US direct lending’s insatiable rise to relevance has so far not brought with it a push towards sustainable finance. But this year may be different, as certain private debt funds are setting out ESG blueprints for others to follow.

Chinese property company Kaisa Group Holdings raised $200m from a rapid return to the debt market this week.

KKR has appointed a new partner to help manage its private credit business.

Smurfit Kappa, the Irish paper and cardboard packaging company, has signed its first sustainability-linked loan for €1.35bn, at the same time as setting new targets to reduce its carbon footprint and water use and employ more women.

Anglo-German travel and tourism group TUI has completed its heavily discounted €544m rights issue, which is part of a bailout of the company.

ION Analytics has returned to the market with a $1.9bn-equivalent loan package to fund the combination of Dealogic with Acuris. It tried to sell this deal before the US presidential election but pulled it in the face of weakening sentiment and concerns over political stability.

GMR Hyderabad International Airport swooped into the bond market on Tuesday for $300m, adding money to its coffers ahead of an expectation of a revival in passenger growth.

More Chinese real estate borrowers headed to the dollar bond market on Tuesday, as bankers tackle a supply rush in the lead up to the Chinese New Year holidays in mid-February.

Hong Kong-listed Sun Hung Kai Properties has returned to the loan market for a HK$5bn ($645m) club deal. It is testing lender appetite at a time of growing selectiveness around the sector.

Indonesian mining company Bukit Makmura Mandiri Utama (Buma) returned to the bond market on Tuesday to raise $400m after a three-year hiatus.

Chinese conglomerate Fosun International has cut pricing on a new $560m-equivalent multi-currency loan, as it counts on banks’ hunger to lend amid slow deal flow to push its transaction past the finish line.

BlackRock wants to move a long way towards catching up with leading investors in its response to climate change, its CEO Larry Fink indicated in his annual letter to chief executives on Tuesday. BlackRock stopped short of setting a net zero carbon emissions target for its $8.7tr of assets under management, or committing to swift decarbonisation. But it did publish a ‘net zero commitment’ saying it would “support the goal of net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner”.