Loans and High Yield

Companies across Europe are shifting their aspirations from surviving the coronavirus pandemic to making the most of the economic opportunities it may present. Both loan and bond bankers are seeing more requests to help clients fund M&A. In the last few weeks, multiple companies have signed loans linked to acquisitions and more are expected after the summer.

The resilience of China’s property market amid the Covid-19 pandemic is paying off for many of the country’s bond issuers, which have been able to reprice their secondary curves owing to strong investor support, writes Morgan Davis.

Recycling aluminium manufacturer Ye Chiu Group has returned to the loan market after a four year absence for a $150m deal to meet its refinancing needs.

Chinese real estate borrowers swarmed the international bond market on Wednesday, raising a combined $1.05bn across four transactions.

Commerzbank expects its corporate division to remain under pressure from the coronavirus crisis in the second half of the year, after a second quarter where international firms rushed to take out debt products but the bank was stung by a large single provision, understood to relate to disgraced payments company, Wirecard.

Morgan Stanley Investment Management has set up a European corporate fund and a European strategic fund, both earmarked as sustainable.

Indonesian high yield property companies are continuing to come under fire, with Alam Sutera becoming the latest to be hit with a downgrade due to bond refinancing concerns.

Melco Resorts Finance tapped its 5.75% 2028 notes on Tuesday, adding another $350m to the trade.

Singapore oil trading company Winson Group is planning to extend by one year a loan signed in 2019.

HKR International, a conglomerate with operations in property development and healthcare, has turned to the loan market after five years for a HK$3.35bn ($432m) facility.

Ineos Styrolution, the styrenics supplying unit of Ineos, has signed a number of loan facilities to support its $5bn acquisition of BP’s aromatics and acetyls businesses. There were roughly $9bn in commitments from 23 banks.

Powerlong Real Estate Holdings received huge support from investors for its $200m bond on Monday. The deal’s modest size and expectations of limited imminent supply from Chinese property credits helped the firm get away with a negative new issue premium of about 10bp.