UBS

Eight financial institutions combined to raise €6.25bn of senior funding in the euro market this week, with supply volumes expected to drop off briefly for earnings season before ramping back up again in early February.

Three CEE banks announced new bond issues this week. Armenia's Ardshinbank has printed a $300m five year bond, Credit Bank of Moscow sold a $600m five year and Sovcombank, another Russian bank, has released plans for a roadshow.

Credit Bank of Moscow sold its $600m five year bond “flat to the curve” on Wednesday, according to a syndicate official on the deal.

There was a burst of activity from Chinese pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in the equity capital markets this week, as the sector took centre stage following the spread of a flu-like virus that has already claimed lives on the mainland. Jonathan Breen reports.

Sino Biopharmaceutical issued a zero coupon convertible bond on Wednesday, boosting the size to €750m as demand poured in from across Asia, Europe and the US, according to multiple sources close to the deal.

Hengda Real Estate Group Co, a subsidiary of China Evergrande Group, raised $4bn across two tranches on Tuesday, just days after Evergrande nabbed $2bn from another bond sale.

Three CEE banks have announced new bond issues this week. Armenia's Ardshinbank has printed a $300m five year bond, Credit Bank of Moscow has initial price guidance out on a dollar five year benchmark and Sovcombank, another Russian bank, has released plans for a roadshow.

The Republic of the Philippines hit the market with a pair of euro benchmark bonds on Tuesday, making a rapid comeback to the currency.

Three companies from the Greater China region sealed bonds on Tuesday, likely to be the last batch of issuers to tap the debt market before the Chinese New Year break begins. No Asian borrowers launched dollar deals on Wednesday.

UBS’s investment bank spent around $80m from restructuring related to personnel at the end of last year. The Swiss bank has also said it will look into partnerships with other banks for its investment bank.

All of the dollar debt issuance from Greater China on Monday came from real estate companies, with six borrowers taking about $1.4bn between them.

Real estate company Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD) followed the recent success of other high yield Indonesian borrowers in the dollar market on January 20, homing in on a refinancing opportunity that had slipped through its fingers in 2019.