Search results for

The decision by MSCI to reclassify Saudi Arabia as an emerging market and the country's inclusion in its emerging market indices is a game changing moment for the kingdom in its attempts up to foreign investors. With the IPO of Saudi Aramco looming, investors are excited by the prospects these changes promise, writes Sam Kerr.

The sterling bond market was alive with bank issuance ahead of a Bank of England meeting this week, with Metro Bank testing investor appetite with a debut, unrated tier two deal.

Canadian Imperial bank of Commerce this week issued the first dollar covered bond in 144A format this year. The funding, which was much cheaper than the cost of raising a similar deal in dollar senior format, could well unleash a slew of supply, mostly from Canadian banks but also potentially from European names.

The European Investment Bank has released initial price thoughts for a sterling benchmark floater referencing Sonia — a trade that dominated many conversations at this week's Euromoney Global Borrowers conference in London. The deal will be priced on Friday.

The European primary ABS market has kicked into high gear in the weeks since the Global ABS conference in Barcelona, which ended on June 7. RMBS is particularly in focus as banks return to the market, with the tide of cheap central bank money ebbing away.

Poland’s domestic bond market is not as big as participants would like it to be. It needs standardised documentation, they say, along with more ratings and the adoption of transparent, fixed rate coupons. Philip Moore reports.

Polish GDP impressed in the first quarter of 2018, growing 5.2% year-on-year, up from the 5.1% estimated, driven by higher consumption and investment in infrastructure co-financed by EU funds. Ukrainian migrants have also boosted GDP. But with proposed cuts to EU funding set to hit Poland hardest — at a cost of 1% of GDP a year from 2021, according to some estimates — the outlook is not so rosy. Virginia Furness reports.

The Republic of Poland has proved itself to be one of the most prudent and innovative borrowers in central and eastern Europe, leaving it well placed to navigate increasing volatility in global rates, while some less prepared issuers may run into funding difficulties. Virginia Furness reports.

When Standard & Poor’s revised its outlook on Poland to positive in April, it was the latest in a series of welcome surprises. The economy has grown faster than most analysts expected, leading several of them to upgrade their forecasts for growth in 2018. In the capital market, meanwhile, it was Poland, rather than any of the core eurozone economies, that became the first sovereign in the green bond market. What next for Poland’s vibrant economy and capital market? Participants answering this question in the GlobalCapital Poland roundtable, which took place in London in early June, were:

Equity-linked investors got a second opportunity this week to buy new European paper when Soitec, the French maker of semiconductor materials, hit the market on Thursday with a €150m five year convertible bond.

European agencies are seeing increased interest from investors for socially responsible investing (SRI) themed private placements, with some expecting the market to grow in size.

After an absence of more than two years, Royal Bank of Canada this week issued its first covered bond in euros, attracting a comfortably oversubscribed order book for a €1.5bn deal which was priced with a skinny new issue concession.