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GF Securities powered its HK$27.9bn ($3.60bn) IPO to a triumphant finish after investors swarmed into the trade, allowing it to price the shares at the top of the range. But a heavily oversubscribed book and the issuer’s insistence on taking an active role meant allocations proved a tough task. John Loh reports.

Chinese department store operator Golden Eagle International Trading has launched a $500m three year bullet into general syndication. Eight mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners are on the deal.

Seven banks have prefunded a NT$32bn ($1.02bn) seven year loan to help Taiwan Broadband Communications refinance existing debt.

China’s struggling property sector got a much needed boost this week after the Chinese authorities introduced a new set of supportive measures. The new rules will not be a quick fix to the real estate industry’s problems, but they have prompted renewed interest in its bonds, writes Rev Hui.

Shawbrook, the UK challenger bank, jumped 6% this morning in the first few minutes of trading, after raising £217.5m from its initial public offering in London.

Swiss company Holcim has shed its stake in Siam City Cement to net Bt22.15bn ($679m), via a bookbuilding process that ran from March 26 until last weekend, as key investors took their time placing orders.

The Bank of England’s new framework for stress testing UK lenders, published on Monday, read like a realistic roundup of the market's worst fears.

Telstra lifted the mood with a tightly priced dollar trade that suggested the poor market conditions of the previous week were abating.

A CEE sovereign, a Middle Eastern bank and a Jordanian corporate came to market before Easter. While this may sound like the start of an ill-advised and esoteric joke — it is April Fools’ Day after all — this week’s offerings are a perfect showcase of the diversity of CEEMEA credits available.

Several corporate bond issuers have braved a tricky European market to get deals done before the Easter break. Today, Centrica, the UK energy company, is launching its debut hybrid bond.

Greece is planning to issue a perpetual zero coupon bond as a solution to its debt sustainability challenges.

Supranational and agency issuers will have to take a defensive approach to issuance in euros in the coming weeks, said bankers, as showcased by a deal from Cassa Depositi e Prestiti on Tuesday.