Morgan Stanley

Westpac Banking Corp is set to print its first benchmark Samurai transaction in almost two years as Japan’s central bank ploughs on with the monetary easing policy that has made yields on foreign banks’ bonds more attractive to domestic buyers.

Corporate bond issuance is set to get busier again in Europe next week, bankers say, with a drive-by deal also possible on Friday.

GTT, the LNG membranes firm, began bookbuilding on a €675m IPO on Monday, hoping that it could capture demand as investors move into more defensive stocks. The deal was covered on Tuesday.

Banco Comercial Português’ successful return to the senior unsecured market was driven more by renewed demand for its name than a general pick-up in eurozone sentiment and a hunt for yield, said bankers who worked on the deal.

Russian lender Credit Bank of Moscow is pushing on with plans for a $500m IPO later in the year, hoping that Russian equities continue to improve after the disruption in January.

FIG investors continued to defy ratings agencies on Wednesday as they deemed two periphery credits more than worthy of investment in senior unsecured.

GazTransport & Technigaz's (GTT) €675m IPO was covered on Tuesday, the day after bookbuilding began. Bankers hoped the deal could capture demand as investors move towards defensive stocks.

Danish outsourcing firm ISS launched a $2.1bn-equivalent IPO on Tuesday, trying a listing again for the fourth time with reduced leverage ratios and better market conditions.

GTT began bookbuilding on a €675m IPO on Monday, hoping that it can capture demand as investors move into more defensive stocks.

Fast Retailing, the operator of popular Japanese clothing chain Uniqlo, is poised to list its Hong Kong Depositary Receipts on March 5, according to an exchange filing.

Real money accounts proved their increasing dedication to the additional tier one market, buying almost half of BBVA’s €1.5bn perpetual non-call five year deal on Tuesday. With many market participants fretting about idiosyncratic structures and a lack of pricing transparency in AT1 deals, BBVA’s trade has provided a useful benchmark for the euro market, said bankers.

FIG investors showed their appetite for riskier paper has not been dimmed in the slightest by recent market volatility, piling into BBVA’s second additional tier one outing — and its first to be denominated in euros — to push the books to €11bn.