Morgan Stanley

Financials dominated the US investment grade issuance calendar this week as investors refused to be put off by geopolitical risks.

Tata Steel announced a 5.5 year and 10 year dollar denominated dual trancher on Wednesday afternoon. The borrower is the second from the Indian high yield arena to open books for a debut dollar deal today, joining renewable energy company Greenko.

Morgan Stanley has hired from within to fill the gap on its Asia bonds desk caused by the relocation of Ronan McCullough earlier this year.

Xiaomi’s $1bn financing has become a talking point among bankers. The Chinese mobile phone company has ambitious plans for expansion but there is concern in some quarters over how it has chosen to execute its debut. The company should brace itself for an uphill climb. Closing this deal isn’t going to be easy.

Citi is poised to hire a European bank credit analyst from Morgan Stanley.

One of the longest running ECM sagas in recent times is set to come to an end after bankers close to WH Group’s HK$18.3bn ($2.36bn) IPO confirmed that bookbuilding is slated to launch on July 23. And unlike its previous attempt at a listing - when the pork producer was forced to abort due to overly ambitious pricing - the upcoming transaction is hoping to avoid those issues as the shares will come with a price tag that is more than 23% cheaper.

Tata Steel is kicking off investor meetings for what could be an inaugural dollar and euro denominated deal this week. In addition to being the latest in a string of Indian borrowers to explore the euro market this year, the company joins a club of high yield issuers from India that are surfacing in dollars.

Singaporean packaging company Goodpack is seeking a loan worth $835m to fund its leveraged buyout by private equity firm KKR, with a large chunk of the financing to go to the US market.

A tinge of risk-aversion crept into the US corporate bond market on Thursday, as investors digested the US government’s decision to broaden its sanctions on Russia over the situation in Ukraine.

All of the big US investment banks have beaten grim expectations for their fixed income trading divisions, despite a collapse in volumes far more severe than that in the first quarter and volatility that is still on the floor, writes Owen Sanderson.

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi is making its second attempt at a loan market debut, launching a $1bn fundraising into senior syndication. The early signs are that the deal will win the hearts of loans bankers, but the company still has to clear some hurdles on its way to success, write Rashmi Kumar and Shruti Chaturvedi.

Internet giant Yahoo announced on July 15 that it will be selling 60m fewer shares in Alibaba’s IPO. The listing is expected to hit the market either at the end of the month or at the start of August.