UBS

John Lee will become sole head of Greater China global banking at UBS next year, after co-head Xuewen Bi steps down from his day-to-day managerial job.

Covered bonds performed well in 2019, but yields finished in negative territory and spreads ended at their tightest for the year. The implication is that, despite higher than expected ECB covered bond purchases and a renewal of its ultra-cheap TLTRO facility, investors will struggle to match 2019’s returns in 2020, writes Bill Thornhill.

Struggling Swiss steelmaker Schmolz + Bickenbach has launched an emergency rights issue after the Swiss market regulator FINMA approved it on Monday.

Poly Property Development has launched a roadshow for its Hong Kong IPO, with Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC throwing its weight behind the company.

Chinese real estate firms Seazen Holdings Co and China South City Holdings both came to the dollar bond market this week, making use of a narrowing window for issuance before the year ends.

Three Chinese property names hit the bond market on Tuesday, raising a combined $1.624bn in a mix of senior and subordinated trades.

CVC-backed financial technology firm Sisal Pay is marketing a €530m issue of senior floating-rate notes to finance a merger with Intesa Sanpaolo-owned Banca 5’s payments business. The new venture is aiming to be the next Nexi, another Italian fintech star that listed recently and has had success in the high yield bond market too.

A director working on debt advisory and structuring at Barclays is leaving the bank to take up a new job on the buy-side.

UBS has reorganised the senior management team of its global banking business in Asia Pacific, less than three months after revamping its investment banking unit globally.

Chinese car manufacturer Geely Automobile Holdings came out with its first perpetual deal this week, raising $500m while paying a small premium over its outstanding senior bond.

Bank of China’s Macau branch guaranteed a $600m bond for Bank of China Group Investment (BOCGI) that was issued through a special purpose vehicle — a structure that has fallen out of favour among the big Chinese banks.

Chinese power company SDIC Power Holdings is moving forward with its plan to list global depositary receipts on the London Stock Exchange to fund global expansion and its clean energy drive.