UBS

Lesser-known Italian financial institutions have moved to the front of the pipeline in the financial institutions bond market, as larger and more frequent funders begin slipping into blackout periods ahead of reporting third quarter earnings.

Fangdd Network Group, an online platform for real estate agents, is planning an IPO on the Nasdaq, having filed draft documents with the US securities regulator this week.

Bank of China broke new ground for Asia this week with the region’s first floating rate bond linked to the secured overnight financing rate (Sofr). But a host of challenges around payment calculations and liquidity mean other issuers will be slower to embrace this new benchmark. Addison Gong reports.

Chinese property company Ronshine China Holdings brought its 2022 notes to the market again on Wednesday, tapping the 8.75% bonds for a second time and adding $265m to its coffers.

Bank of Ireland was more than three times subscribed for a €300m tier two bond this week, nailing its second attempt at the deal after returning to the market with a wider spread for investors.

Rating: —/—/BB

Three Chinese companies joined the queue to list in the US within the past week. Youdao, an online education platform founded by Chinese technology company NetEase, is planning the largest of the IPOs, seeking up to $300m.

Swiss investors’ thirst for yield was quenched in some style at the end of last week, when Russian Railways printed the largest Swiss franc transaction of the year from an emerging market borrower.

Sovcombank printed a tier two bond on Monday at the wide end of guidance and the lowest end of the expected size range, which an investor said was a sign that the deal was “struggling” over the line. But a lead manager on the note pointed to healthy trading on Tuesday and its debut status and said that the issuer had simply taken sensible decisions after an in-depth price discovery process.

Sovcombank was in the market on Monday morning with a subordinated bond, just 10 days after the issuer’s credit rating was upgraded by two major ratings agencies.

Asset World Corp, the property and hospitality firm, has raised Bt48bn ($1.57bn) from Thailand’s largest IPO by a private company.

SoftwareOne Holding, the KKR-backed IT services company, launched its IPO on the SIX Swiss Exchange on Monday.