UBS

China Aoyuan Property Group hit the market for a three year dollar bond on Monday in what is only the fourth transaction in the currency this year from the country’s high yield property sector.

The IPO of VAT Vakuumventile, the first substantial Swiss listing for a year, was “very oversubscribed”, a banker on it said, and was priced at Sfr45 a share, close to the top of the range.

The primary covered bond market was active this week with as many as seven issuers raising more than €6bn, including the longest deal in over a year and a debut borrower in euros.

Yorkshire Building Society pulled in £1bn of orders in no time on Thursday morning, as sterling investors fought over the first long end senior bond in the currency since January.

Aroundtown Property Holdings, the Paris- and Frankfurt-listed company that invests in German property turnrounds, has extended the deadline on an incentivised conversion offer for its €450m pre-IPO convertible until Thursday evening.

BBVA launched the first euro denominated AT1 transaction since February’s sell-off this week, pricing the bond through its outstanding notes’ yield to call and fuelling hopes the primary market is fully open once more.

Jefferies and UBS conducted on Thursday night the second block trade of shares in DFS Furniture, the UK sofa retailer, since they led its £221m IPO in March 2015.

ING printed an operating company tier two bond this week that can be converted into holding company debt, a new technique that could be used by other borrowers and even applied to senior unsecured bonds as banks wait for clarity on resolution rules in Europe. Tom Porter reports.

Covered bond borrowers in the UK, Sweden, France, New Zealand and the Netherlands met with strong receptions for their transactions this week, which collectively raised nearly €6bn.

European and US banks have positioned themselves at the forefront of the Chinese M&A boom, but beware the ambitions of domestic players, warns David Rothnie

The phenomenal levels of demand hitting the investment grade corporate bond market were evident again on Tuesday, as German property firm Alstria Office was vindicated in delaying its €500m offering.

Swiss property investor Allreal Holding printed an eight year Swiss franc bond on Tuesday, in a transaction which bankers hope will revive corporate issuance in the currency.