UK

European Central Bank president Mario Draghi may have signed off for the summer by dampening debate around tapering of the ECB’s bond purchasing, but investors are still at their desks with money to spend.

Rating: Baa3/—

DS Smith was warmly welcomed back to the European corporate bond markets by investors, nearly two years after its inaugural deal. The UK packaging company received a strong orderbook for its euro tranche, but an even stronger book for its debut sterling tranche.

Empiric Student Housing, the UK real estate investment trust, raised £110m in its sixth equity issue since its £85m IPO in June 2014. The deal fell short of its £150m target, amid a busy calendar of Reit and closed-end fund equity raisings.

For months investors have been complaining about how far pricing moves from initial price thoughts to guidance and again in final pricing in the corporate bond market. On Wednesday, Vodafone responded with a new approach to marketing. The response, however, was not what those involved expected, writes Nigel Owen.

Supermarket Income Reit has completed a £100m IPO on the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday, though it raised less money than it had hoped. The promoters believe they are offering access to an undervalued part of the UK property market that can provide a strong yield.

Vodafone was the star issuer of last summer, printing jumbo deals which served to kick-start the sterling corporate bond market, which is still going strong. On Wednesday however, they opted for more conservative volumes, printing before the summer shutdown begins. The UK telecoms company also adopted a novel approach to pricing.

Hong Kong-listed China Resources Land is returning to the Panda market on July 21 after a year-long absence. The company, which is hoping to raise Rmb5bn ($741m), will be the second red chip real estate issuer in two days to price a dual-tranche Panda deal.

The Saudi Aramco flotation will be one of the big ethical battles of next year in financial markets. Skirmishes have already begun, with the UK regulator’s bid to ease listing rules to attract Aramco and its like. UK investors should take a stand.

RBC Capital Markets has hired James Agnew, a veteran UK corporate broking executive, to be chairman of corporate broking for its business in Europe.

New gold and silver futures contracts launched by the London Metal Exchange (LME) on Monday of last week have had a “promising start”, according to its precious metals head.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and other market actors are working on a system to match investors’ views on what is a ‘green’ bond with suitable deals in the market.