Standard Chartered

The Prudential Regulation Authority has told UK banks that they are free to resume dividend and bonus payments from next year, though pay-outs will be subject to caps based on profits and risk-weighted assets.

GlobalCapital and Standard Chartered hosted a combination of virtual and in-person roundtable on the China high yield debt market at the end of November. The third part of a 2020 series followed the first roundtable in April and the second in July. This time around, leading experts came together to discuss the opportunities and outlook for the Mainland’s high yield bond market.

Vedanta Resources sold a $1bn bond this week, easing mounting concerns about its debt repayment abilities. The metal and mining company’s return was not easy, as it had to concede to a number of investor-friendly terms. Morgan Davis reports.

Indian data analytics firm Mu Sigma has closed its $95m refinancing loan after receiving commitments from three more banks during syndication.

Emerging market bond mandates are continuing into the last month of the year, despite expectations that activity would quieten down after a jam-packed year of issuance. Kuwait’s Burgan Bank and Montenegro are among some of the CEEMEA issuers seeking to take advantage of unfalteringly attractive credit conditions.

Philippine company SMC Global Power Holdings Corp added $350m to its coffers from a bond tap on Monday, taking advantage of market stability to return to investors rapidly.

Hong Kong’s personal loan provider, United Asia Finance, has returned to the market for its annual borrowing. It is seeking a HK$1.2bn ($154.8m) facility.

The dollar bond market is wide open for companies to take advantage of strong demand and a rally in spreads, boosting hopes for a busy end to a record year for investment grade issuance.

The Republic of the Philippines sold its largest international bond in more than a decade this week, raising $2.75bn from a deal that received strong support from investors confident about the country’s control of Covid, and its outlook. It even managed to get away with a record low coupon on one of the tranches.

Investors took a long-term view on Hong Kong Airport Authority’s $1.5bn perpetual bond on Tuesday, shrugging off any Covid-19 related travel concerns to place $14.5bn of orders. Morgan Davis reports.

Hong Kong's Airport Authority proved that Covid-19 related travel worries are of little concern for its dollar bond investors. The issuer attracted a final order book of $14.5bn for its $1.5bn dual-tranche deal on Tuesday.

Four Chinese borrowers hit the dollar bond market on Tuesday, raising $745m between them.