Sweden

Issuance is starting to resume after the summer break; however, this week a booming public market drew away investor and issuer attention from MTNs. Despite this, a range of established SSA, FIG and corporate borrowers have slipped in, with deals across core, niche and EM currencies.

After two huge days of corporate bond issuance, Thursday was much quieter, with issues only from Vier Gas Transport and SBB Norden — not because the market was worse, but just because most of the issuers that wanted to come this week had crowded into the first two days.

Swedish private equity firm EQT is likely to bring its IPO to market before the end of the year, joining a host of high quality European listings.

HSBC France and Svenska Handelsbanken avoided issuing senior bonds at negative yields in a busy new issue market on Tuesday, but bankers said it was only a 'matter of time' before someone takes the plunge below 0% with an unsecured deal.

Medicover is on the hunt for at least €100m of funding in the Schuldschein market. The Swedish healthcare company joins a growing number of Nordic borrowers looking to tap the German loans market.

Sweden broke new ground on Wednesday by selling a new 10 year bond with a negative yield for the first time. Investors are pouring into haven assets amid mounting concerns over both the domestic and global economies.

Participants in the financial institutions bond market had expected that issuers could hit screens with new transactions as early as this week, but so far macroeconomic and political uncertainty has discouraged them from putting investor appetite to the test this summer.

Volumes are growing across the spectrum in the Scandinavian MTN markets, as issuers and bankers return from their summer holidays. Meanwhile, bankers are expecting Scandinavian investors to move further out along the credit curve in response to negative yields as dovish Nordic central bank tones could lead to a bullish Scandinavian market.

This week's scorecard looks at the progress Nordic agencies have made in their 2019 funding programmes.

Oriflame, a Swedish cosmetics company, attracted emerging markets accounts to its buyout bonds on Wednesday selling the dual tranche deal inside price guidance.

The Swedish cosmetics company Oriflame is attempting to charm high yield investors with a €775m bond — but left lead Goldman Sachs is also pitching the issue to emerging market-focused accounts, highlighting the company's extensive business in Asia and Turkey. The founding family of the firm will use the bond to refinance bridge facilities which funded their buyout of the company earlier this year.

The Swedish government has instructed the country’s national debt office to develop a green framework before issuance in the format by next year as part of its sustainable development strategy.