News content

European corporate bond markets remain focused on British American Tobacco’s multi-tranche deal expected later this week. However, nine different investment grade issuers printed new issues in the US on Monday, making it the most varied day of 2017 so far.

British American Tobacco is expected to bring the week-long run without any new corporate bond issuance to an end later this week. The UK based tobacco company could issue in dollars, euros and sterling.

In this round-up, an ex-IMF economist says China needs an independent central bank, the People’s Bank of China considers changing the RMB trading band, and trade between China and Africa surges in the first half of the year.

Anglian Water’s £250m eight year green bond was the only corporate new issue that priced this week. If there is to be any issuance next week, it is expected to be in sterling.

Verizon Communications launched its first Australian dollar bond on Thursday. The four tranche deal is the largest corporate bond in the currency this year, raising A$2.2bn ($1.75bn) when it was priced on Friday.

Bank of China and China Construction Bank have picked new chairmen, BOC’s asset management arm received its first batch of qualified foreign institutional investor (QFII) quotas, and the Ministry of Finance published new guidelines to restrict foreign investments by state-owned enterprises.

Anglian Water priced the first green corporate bond in sterling since 2015 on Monday. The company’s green bond debut could herald a surge of deals from its peers, writes Nigel Owen.

Chinese investors have become increasingly focused on short-dated bonds this year. That is proving to be a boon for the country’s auto ABS originators, who are in the middle of a breakneck expansion of volumes — with plenty more still on the cards. Noah Sin reports.

Investors poured cold water on China Gas’s first outing in the Panda bond market since last October, forcing the energy issuer to pull the longer-term tranche of its Rmb1.5bn ($221.4m) deal on Thursday.

Friday will mark the first anniversary of the Bank of England’s announcement it would be commencing its Corporate Bond Purchase Scheme. This prompted one of the busiest Augusts on record in the sterling corporate bond market. Bankers and investors are hoping the passing of this week’s Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee meeting on Thursday will provide another catalyst for summer issuance.

Corporate bond investors had only one roadshow yet to result in a new issue to contend with on Tuesday as their market appeared to grind to a halt for a summer break.

BMW Automotive Finance (China) Co is planning its second outing in China’s auto loan asset-backed securities market this year, with book building for the Rmb4bn ($595.7m) Bavarian Sky China 2017-2 set to start next week.