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Eskom has released initial price guidance for its $1.5bn dual tranche bond but analysts and syndicate officials seem divided as to whether the premium offered over the sovereign is enough to make it a compelling purchase. But having set modest sizes for the notes, the large majority expect the trade to go well.

Eskom, the South African state-run power company, has said it could print its dollar bond as early as tomorrow and has confirmed that it will sell both standalone and government-guaranteed tranches. Investors have a wide range of views on fair value.

South African state-run power company Eskom is aiming to print a total of $1.5bn and is expecting to sell both guaranteed and unguaranteed tranches of its bond, according to two sources close to the deal.

South Africa’s troubled state-run power company, Eskom, signed a $2.5bn loan from China Development Bank (CDB) this week, securing almost two-thirds of its funding requirements for the financial year and reviving hope among investors that the country’s state-owned companies have moved one step closer to returning to the capital markets. That wish was swiftly granted by Eskom mandating for its first bond since 2015. Mike Turner and Francesca Young report.

JP Morgan wants to boost the number of Chinese stocks it covers to 200, having poached five research analysts to oversee the market recently, the bank told GlobalRMB.

Bulgarian Energy Holding, the 100% government-owned Bulgarian electricity and gas holding company, has printed a €150m tap of the €400m 3.5% 2025s it sold in June.

Though confidence seems to be trickling back, emerging market investors are clearly starting to embrace the summer holidays. Only small, bespoke bond supply is seeing the light of day.

Bulgarian Energy Holding, the 100% government-owned Bulgarian electricity and gas holding company, is returning to the bond markets for a tap of the €400m 3.5% 2015s it sold in June.The BEH tap will be only the third public Eurobond printed in the CEEMEA market this month — the other two were a Lietuvos Energija green bond in euros and an Angola tap in dollars.

Investors queued up on Thursday to buy Beijing Enterprises Water Group's (BEWG) second Panda bond in two months. The deal came as property Panda issuers are held up by regulators in the pipeline, as China seeks to cool its housing market.

IHS Markit exploited the lull in high-grade supply to grab investor attention with its investment grade debut.

Grim trading in African bonds this year has not stopped DCM and syndicate bankers predicting that African Eurobond volumes will blast past historical records to hit a new high in 2018. With Angola forging ahead this week with a tap that broke a dollar hiatus of more than a month in the CEEMEA market, they look set to be proved right, writes Francesca Young.

Electricity network operator Terna has sold the first investment grade corporate bond from an Italian issuer since the formation of the country’s new government and was rewarded with an order book that was more than 5.5 times subscribed, demonstrating an investor base that is open to Italy risk once more. Nigel Owen reports.