Poland

Polish energy provider Energa SA is meeting investors this week for its first Polish non-financial corporate bond since June last year, which will also be the first corporate deal from anywhere in Central and Eastern Europe this year.

The thaw in Western equity investors' and banks' sentiment towards Russia continued this week as Detsky Mir, the toy retailer, announced plans for the first Russian IPO of 2017, to be led by an array of bulge bracket investment banks.

The Republic of Poland is looking to become the first repeat sovereign issuer of Panda bonds as it seeks to raise Rmb3bn ($435m) this year.

The Z5.14bn (€1.16bn) of loans for the leveraged buy-out of Allegro, the Polish online marketplace, have been allocated, with the leads choosing zloty rather than senior or junior euro bonds for the second lien piece.

Poland broke new ground this week, issuing the first ever sovereign green bond. The deal offers a template to future sovereign borrowers, even though some dedicated SRI accounts would like to see future issuers more clearly identifying projects to finance, writes Virginia Furness.

Emerging markets bonds sold off after the US Federal Reserve indicated a more hawkish tone on Wednesday — but much like what happened after the Brexit result, spreads came off their wides quite quickly.

Poland delivered a keenly priced green bond debut on Monday in the brief window before the US Federal Open Markets Committee meeting on Wednesday. Now attention in CEEMEA bonds has fallen upon next year's issuance pipeline.

Poland raised €750m from its debut green bond on Monday which was allocated 61% to green accounts. The sovereign claimed that it was able to print flat to inside where a new conventional bond would have come, setting a strong precedent for future sovereign green issues.

Republic of Poland has opened books on its debut green bond, marketing the deal with a “sensible” a 20bp-25bp premium, according to emerging market bankers.

UniCredit turned to the equity-linked bond market on Thursday to dispose of its last 7.4% stake in Bank Pekao, after agreeing to sell 32.8% of the Polish lender to insurance company Powszechny Zakład Ubezpieczeń and the Polish Development Fund, for Z10.6bn (€2.4bn).

Poland’s plans to issue the first ever sovereign green bond surprised supporters and sceptics alike this week. Climate finance experts are hopeful that the deal marks a major shift in Polish policy to a greener future after the government initially resisted ratifying the UN’s Paris Agreement, writes Virginia Furness.

Green bonds have been a hot topic for several years now, but sovereign issuers have been slow to step up to the plate. Until now. Poland is on the road for a euro-denominated green bond and is meeting investors in London this week.