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Just two weeks after the IMF said it had reached a staff level agreement on the first review of Ecuador’s economic programme, the South American sovereign pounced on a positive start to the week in markets to issue $1.125bn of bonds that will be used to refinance debt due next year.

Helene Williamson, head of EM Investments at First State Investments, will be leaving the business later this year.

Activity in the FIG sector in Swiss francs shifted from the international to the domestic market this week, with a little over Sfr850m ($857m) of new supply priced on Tuesday alone.

Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK), the second largest steel producer in Russia, released price guidance for a $500m five year bond on Wednesday at a level that one EM investor said looked “interesting”.

Sub-investment grade sovereign Dominican Republic clinched a 30 year dollar deal with a slim concession and sold a local currency tranche on top as Latin American DCM bankers say risk appetite remains high despite broader market volatility.

A committee of Barbados bondholders claiming to own over 55% of the island nation’s US dollar bonds has warned the government that it will reject any “unilateral offer” that may emerge from restructuring negotiations.

The Russian sovereign could soon issue its next Eurobond, with both euros and dollars on the table. But if it does launch a deal, the move will be as much financing as it will be a political play to help defend the country from more US sanctions. Francesca Young reports.

Ecobank Transnational Inc, the pan-African bank based in Togo, tapped a $500m 9.5% 2024 bond it issued in April for a further $50m on Tuesday. But despite the note being printed flat to the outstanding, according to leads, and the original bond having rallied over 150bp in yield since pricing a month ago, the tap brought the deal in by another 25bp in secondary trading.

TBC Bank, Georgia’s largest bank by assets, loans and deposits, is hitting the road to market a dollar senior unsecured bond.

Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, the second largest steel producer in Russia is embarking on a roadshow for a dollar benchmark five year bond — its first for 16 years.

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, the pan-African bank based in Togo, has released price guidance for a $50m tap of the $500m 9.5% 2024 bond it issued in April. There has been a huge rally in those bonds since pricing.

The Swiss franc market for corporate borrowers sprang back to life this week, with more than Sfr1bn priced within a single session on Wednesday. Even against the backdrop of demonstrable pent-up demand for corporate exposure among investors, Zurich-based bankers said they were pleasantly surprised by how effortlessly the market absorbed this week’s new supply.