Search results for

Euro trading was down slightly to seventeen issues, but some large trades from France and the Netherlands kept volume strong. French issuers closed six trades. Caisse d'Amortissement de la Dette Sociale did a euro380 million ($327.85 million) trade that matures on February 7 2005. The first coupon is 3.400% and the note thereafter pays an semi-annual coupon of 3.700%. Nomura was the bookrunner. Credit Lyonnais Finance (Guernsey) did three euro1 million notes and Societe Generale closed for euro22 million and euro4 million. ABN Amro Bouwfonds Nederlandse Gemeenten traded two notes. The larger of the two was a euro750 million five-year note done via ABN Amro and UBS Warburg. The note pays a coupon of 3m Euribor +12.5 basis points. It also closed a five-year euro10 million deal that pays an annual coupon of 4.500%. And Credit Suisse First Boston's financial repackaged vehicle, Boats Investments (Netherlands), issued a euro25.32 million note that reaches out to December 26 2041. German issuers were quieter than normal. Westdeutsche Landesbank did a 10-year euro20 million trade. The note pays an annual coupon of 7.125%. And Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau closed a euro10 million deal that goes out to February 14 2017. The note is to be issued on February 14. It is callable, with the first call on February 14 2003 and callable annually thereafter. It has an annual coupon of 5.425% and was led by Mizuho. Hypo Tirol Bank and Union Bank of Norway did three-year euro50 million notes respectively, while Portugal Telecom International Finance went for a one-year tenor with its euro50 million trade.

EuroWeek conducted a straw poll this week of emerging markets sovereign credit strategists at eight investment banks, to discover their views of where the markets are headed in the coming year. Here are the results.

Euro trading was stronger than for some time as $2.36 billion was issued off 25 trades. While French and German borrowers were the most frequent, there were nine other nationalities trading. The largest note issued came from Belgium borrower, Dexia Municipal Agency. It closed a euro750 million ($648.96 million) trade with a 15-year tenor. It pays an annual coupon of 5.250% and has a spread of 31 basis points. Barclays Capital, CDC Ixis Capital Markets and Commerzbank led the trade. French issuers closed six trades. Caisse Centrale du Credit Immobilier de France did a euro20 million note that goes out to October 26 2010. The note pays an annual coupon of 6.120%. And Unibail closed a euro5 million trade that matures on November 15 2004. Elsewhere, ABN Amro led a three-year euro200 million trade for Pfandbrief Bank International. The note has a coupon of 3m Euribor flat. Salomon Smith Barney was the bookrunner on a euro250 million issue for Bank of Scotland Treasury Services. The note has a two-year tenor. And Australia and New Zealand Banking Group closed a euro500 million note. It has a spread of 17 basis points and is linked to the OBL 138. JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley co-led the trade.

Sentiment in the dollar market was much improved this week by a $4.5bn convertible bond issue by Ford Motor Co, the largest such instrument ever launched, and by the surprise announcement from Tyco that it is to split four ways and to buy back/tender US$11bn of debt. Auto spreads tightened by 10bp on the back of Ford's successful transaction, and Tyco's dollar bonds tightened by 80bp-100bp versus Treasuries, its euro bonds by 50bp-60bp and its sterling bonds by 80bp. GMAC took advantage of the warmer mood towards autos by launching $1bn of five year bonds and $1bn of 10 year bonds, while Italy took advantage of a receptive dollar market, increasing its five year benchmark by $2bn to $5bn, making it the largest sovereign dollar deal. Fannie Mae increased its five year Benchmark Note by $4bn. The expected five year global for the Asian Development Bank, though, failed to emerge this week. The deal had been expected at 2bp over agencies via HSBC, Nomura and Morgan Stanley, but unattractive arbitrage reportedly encouraged the borrower to postpone. Freddie Mac enjoyed a warm reception for its Eu5bn five year EuReference Note, attracting a book of Eu8bn as it priced 1bp inside guidance, at 27bp over Bunds. Telecom Italia was the highlight of the corporate market, selling Eu2.5bn of debt split into equal tranches of five and 10 years, but the corporate pipeline looks thin for the coming week. Ecolab will launch its Eu300m five year bond and Suez is also expected, with a Eu1bn issue in five to 10 years via Citigroup/SSSB, Deutsche and Morgan Stanley. Market participants are also awaiting a deal from Teledanmark. A Eu300m issue, rated A2/A, is expected, with initial price talk of 80bp over mid-swaps. And Baa2/BBB rated Carlton Communic-ations is expected to offer a benchmark bond by the end of the month. Several sovereign issues will be launched during the coming weeks. The Republic of Portugal is to launch a Eu2bn-Eu2.5bn 10 year benchmark through Banco Espirito Santo, CAI, Citigroup/SSSB and Deutsche Bank in early February. Cyprus will also be coming to the market. A roadshow is planned for early February, with Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse First Boston. And Sicily has increased its global MTN programme to Eu3.2bn and is planning an inaugural Eu400m deal in the first quarter of this year. In its bid to establish itself as a quasi-agency borrower, DePfa has decided not to issue any more opportunistic deals and will issue two benchmark globals a year. The first is expected for Eu3bn-Eu5bn in February. CCCIF, rated A1/A+/A1, is set to launch a long term euro denominated benchmark via Barclays Capital and CDC IXIS following a roadshow taking place from February 7 to 14. Dexia Municipal Agency has awarded a mandate for its debut 15 year obligations foncières, rated Aaa/AAA/AAA. The Eu750m issue will be led by Barclays Capital, CDC IXIS and Commerzbank. A group is being formed and the deal will have strict market making requirements throughout its tenor. ABN Bouwfonds Nederlandse Gemeenten NV is launching a five year Eu500m floater next week in the 15bp area over swaps via ABN Amro and UBS Warburg. And ANZ will launch a Eu500m five year transaction via JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley. Price talk indicates plus 16bp-17bp to swaps. Findomestic Banca SpA is to launch a euro FRN through Deutsche Bank, which will be sole bookrunner, and Natexis Banques Populaires. The yen market is due for some rare new supply - a ¥100bn plus 10 year global bond for JFM, thought to be led by Nikko Salomon Smith Barney and UBS Warburg. Bankers had expected Merrill Lynch to announce the launch of a 10 year GIC backed sterling deal for AIG this week. Initial spread talk was the high 60s over the Gilt.

Freddie Mac launched its latest EuReference Note this week, a Eu5bn five year transaction, at a level some 20bp wider on a Libor basis than US agency dollar trading levels. But despite the cost, the transaction was a success for the borrower, attracting a book of Eu8bn. The 4.625% February 2007 EuReference Note came close to 4bp over mid-swaps. It is the first time Freddie Mac has priced five year paper over Libor. There is no directly comparable Freddie Mac paper in dollars, but Fannie Mae this week re-opened its January 2007 deal at almost 15bp through Libor.

After a disastrous year for growth stocks in 2001, biotech is back on the agenda in 2002 for issuers - if not investors. A number of biotech companies throughout Europe have announced their intention to list in the near future. But the requirements of investors have changed since the heady days of 2000. Immuno-Designed Molecules (IDM), the French biotechnology company, will be one of the first out of the blocks when the opportunity arises. But Hervé Duchesne de Lamotte, IDM's chief financial officer, explained that the company was under no illusions as to the poor state of the IPO market at the moment.

* Bank Austria

ING Bank has signed a euro10 billion ($8.78 billion) Euro-CP facility. ING Barings/BBL is the arranger and dealer and is joined by National Australia Bank (Hong Kong) and Westpac Banking Corporation (Hong Kong) as dealers for its Sydney operations.

ING Barings yesterday (Thursday) hosted the first investor presentations for the initial public offering for leading Russian dairy and fruit juice producer Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods. The pricing range for the IPO has been set at $18.5-$21.5, which will raise $196m-$227m on a gross basis. At the mid-point of the range, the deal will raise net $166m for the company.

As part of its growing Japanese financial markets team, ING Barings has brought in Andrew Green as a director in its high grade origination business in Asia. Green has been hired to focus on MTN issuers with a focus on placements in Tokyo. ING Barings hired Stuart Baker 18 months ago to increase its Japanese presence. In that time, Baker, who heads up ING Barings' financial markets operations in Japan, has more than doubled the size of the financial markets team in Japan to over 45 people.

Jon Thornton, who left Aberdeen Asset Management two weeks ago, will join Gartmore as head of UK equities at the end of the month. The fund manager is one of the UK's best known investors. He left Aberdeen along with five other fund managers following a restructuring.