Turkey

Two Turkish borrowers hit the market on Thursday, one returning to the market after a six year hiatus. Coming in the wake of a Koc Holding deal this week, the three deals make this Turkey’s busiest week for deals in almost three years.

Koç Holding opened books for a six year dollar benchmark, returning to the bond market for the first time in three years. While market participants said that initial price thoughts looked generous, they expected the spread to be tightened aggressively before pricing.

Two Turkish issuers were back on screens this week as the country continues its rehabilitation in the capital markets. QNB Finansbank printed with a 10bp new issue premium, according to one lead manager, a level which he said shows how far Turkey has come since the sovereign paid up 50bp for its post-volatility return to market trade in October.

Koç Holding, Turkey's largest holding company, has mandated three banks for a five or seven year dollar RegS/144A benchmark. An investor has said that given recent Turkey volatility, he would want to see a much larger premium over the Turkey curve for the longer of those two options.

QNB Finansbank has revised initial price thoughts for its benchmark dollar 5.5 year bond, with books for the deal over $1.4bn. Both an investor and a syndicate official had said earlier in the day they expected tighter pricing.

Turkish lender QNB Finansbank has mandated six banks to arrange a dollar 5.5 year Reg S/144A benchmark senior bond, the first senior bond from a Turkish bank since March.

Türk Telekom printed a $500m six year bond on Thursday at 7%, capping an extraordinary week in the CEEMEA bond markets. The company's outstanding paper had rallied following the release of initial price guidance for the bond, such was the demand for exposure to the credit.

Rating: Ba3/B+/BB

Vakifbank has found competitive funding with a privately placed covered bond, its second of the year, sold via sole lead manager Credit Suisse, even though the publicly syndicated Turkish covered bond market has been closed for some time.

The Turkish sovereign’s third bond of the year, a sukuk, was priced with no new issue premium on Wednesday, paving the way for Türk Telekom to come to market.

The Republic of Turkey has tightened price guidance for its three year sukuk to 5.9% area, with books for the deal in excess of $3.5bn.

Turkey has picked banks for its third benchmark of the year and its first since 2017 to be issued using sukuk documentation. Bankers say another Turkish borrower could mandate before the end of the week.