South Korea

South Korean investment bank Mirae Asset Daewoo Co raised a $600m bond this week, but had to navigate questions around the stability of its rating and credentials to get past the finish line.

A small deal size and investment grade ratings worked in GS Caltex Corp’s favour on Monday, allowing the South Korean oil refiner to price a tight $300m bond.

South Korea’s Doosan Infracore Co used a guarantee from Korea Development Bank to sell a $300m three year bond on Tuesday.

South Korea’s NongHyup Bank (NH Bank) added to the flow of Covid-19 linked bonds from Asia on Monday. It raised $500m from a five year social bond.

Kookmin Bank has priced its debut euro covered bond flat to where its higher rated compatriot, Korea Housing Finance Corporation (KHFC) would have been expected to come. The deal was said to have attracted additional demand due to its social theme, spurring hopes that further similar issuance would follow.

Chinese issuers hoping to put the pandemic behind them should not abandon coronavirus-linked bonds.

One Equity Partners made its exit from Korea’s Celltrion Healthcare on Monday evening, cashing out of a stock that has rallied by about 97% over the past year.

Shinhan Financial Group raised $500m from a Covid-19 resilience social bond on Monday, finding support from investors keen to buy deals sold to help businesses and people impacted by the pandemic.

Kookmin Bank is expected to surface later this week with its first euro covered bond which will fund social housing. The deal is to emerge amid mounting concern that diminishing supply, rising redemptions and aggressive central bank buying will cause an unprecedented technical squeeze in the covered bond market.

Unrated Swiss private railway operator Rhätische Bahn, owner of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Bernina railway, made its second stop in the Swiss franc bond market this week, four years after its debut deal.

Syndicate bankers are scrambling to make sense of the covered bond market, where sentiment has been changeable in recent weeks. Amid volatility and small issuance windows, sustainable bonds have proven a safe strategy to ensure successful deals.

Berlin Hyp left ‘a little bit on the table’ with its new green covered bond on Tuesday. The trade was followed by deal announcements from Kookmin Bank and Sparebank Vest Boligkreditt, both looking to issue in sustainable format.