Morgan Stanley

Export Development Canada is circulating initial price thoughts for a dollar benchmark in what is set to be a very short window for issuance ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday in the US on Thursday. Bankers away from the mandate said that the price thoughts were aggressive but that the issuer’s rarity and the deal’s limited size should make it a success.

QBE Insurance is set to become the second Australian financial to tap the dollar market for a tier two bond that would convert to equity or write down upon point of non-viability (PNV).

CGN Power is on track to be Hong Kong’s biggest IPO in 2014 as investors jostled for a piece of China’s largest nuclear energy producer, with institutional books already multiple times subscribed on day one of bookbuilding.

Chinese company Sinopharm Group raised a chunky HK$5.55bn ($715m) through a private placement of shares to nine investors over the weekend, with its stock sliding by around 6% on Monday’s trading session.

Alibaba amassed a whopping $55bn of orders from investors for its landmark $8bn deal which ranks as the biggest G3 bond from an Asian ex Japan issuer. But some investors opted to stay on the sidelines after pricing was tightened up to 27bp across the six tranches.

BBVA raised €2bn of fresh equity on Wednesday evening, to finance its acquisition of a 14.89% stake in Turkey’s Garanti Bank — taking its stake in the bank to 39.9%. The €2bn will pay for the whole stake.

A short window of issuance is open for borrowers with dollar benchmarks to do ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday next week that heralds the traditional close of the market.

High-grade issuers swamped the dollar market in the early part of the week trying to get in before Alibaba’s debut $8bn offering on Thursday while expecting a deluge of M&A related financings.

Heavyweight borrowers Citigroup and Westpac Banking Corp printed deals tailored to capture investor preference for short-dated paper in the US market this week.

Alibaba was due to price its landmark bond in the early hours of Friday having launched final price guidance after Asian markets closed the night before. Bankers were staying tight lipped but investors said the deal could easily reach $10bn though debate was divided about what is fair value, write Lorraine Cushnie and Narae Kim.

BBVA is raising €2bn of fresh equity this evening to finance its acquisition of a 14.89% stake in Turkey’s Garanti Bank – taking its stake in the bank to 39.9%. The €2bn will pay for the whole stake.

Numericable completed its €4.7bn capital increase this week, bringing to an end the financing for the French cable operator’s acquisition of SFR.