Standard Chartered

Philippine food and beverage producer and distributor Universal Robina Corp is gauging appetite among banks for a NZ$420m ($278m) loan to refinance an old borrowing used to back the acquisition of New Zealand’s Griffin’s Foods.

Public sector borrowers snapped up cut price deals in the private markets this week, helping to quell trades in the benchmark sector.

When UK telecoms company Vodafone announced in May that it had agreed to buy some of US rival Liberty Global’s European operations, it said it would use existing cash, €3bn of mandatorily convertible bonds and new debt, including hybrid bonds to fund the €18.4bn acquisition. On Wednesday, Vodafone sold the hybrid bonds, using four different tenors in three currencies. Nigel Owen reports.

When UK telecoms company Vodafone announced in May that it had agreed to buy some of US rival Liberty Global’s European operations, it said it would use existing cash, €3bn of mandatorily convertible bonds and new debt, including hybrid bonds to fund the €18.4bn acquisition. On Wednesday, Vodafone sold the hybrid bonds, using four different tenors in three currencies.

Aldar Properties, a real estate company based in Abu Dhabi, needed large orders from lead managers on Tuesday to get to $500m with a seven year sukuk transaction.

Al Khalij Commercial Bank is embarking on a roadshow for a Reg S five year dollar benchmark bond.

The UAE’s Majid Al Futtaim has signed a $1bn revolving credit facility, ramping up the size of the revolver being replaced despite large scale backs to bank commitments.

Abu Dhabi based real estate company Aldar hit screens on Monday morning with a seven year sukuk, but the deal seems to be relying on heavy support from leads.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) has selected banks for its first trip to the bond market for five years, angling to refinance a bond maturing next week.

Japan Tobacco took the rare step of issuing corporate bonds in three different currencies on the same day when it sold its debut euro and sterling bond deals alongside a pair of dollar tranches this week. The unusual move proved to be a successful one however, with each tranche at least three times subscribed.

Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) signed its $1.3bn trade finance facility of Thursday, as the company prepares to start funding purchases for the coming harvest.

Chinese policy bank Agricultural Development Bank of China made its first foray into the dollar bond market on a busy Wednesday to raise $700m, alongside a Rmb1.2bn ($175m) return to offshore renminbi.