United States

Chinese video-based social media platform YY pocketed $850m from a well-timed dual-tranche convertible bond. The deal — launched after repeated indications of interest in US-listed stocks — landed on a burst of risk appetite that followed US president Donald Trump’s tweet confirming his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the G20 gathering in Japan next week. Jonathan Breen reports.

Equity investors have poured cold water on the notion that a US Federal Reserve interest rate cut this year would be enough to offset the damage to capital markets that a prolonged trade stand-off between the US and China would cause.

Nasdaq-listed Chinese social media platform YY hit the market with an $850m dual-tranche convertible bond on Wednesday.

Central bank independence has long been one of the sacred cows of western financial policy, but the rise of populist politicians is increasing the possibility that it might be on the way to the abattoir.

Europe’s private debt markets are progressing admirably. More and more companies are issuing, or at least aware of the possibility — and they have a varied choice of markets. Players in the Schuldschein and US PP markets are confident and looking ahead to new opportunities, as the products grow in geographical reach, asset class and technique. As Jon Hay reports, there’s just one snag — the credit cycle is nearing its end.

LONDON PRIVATE DEBT ROUNDTABLE The UK’s private debt market is one of the most vibrant in Europe. London is the most active centre in Europe for US private placement investing, and UK borrowers have longstanding links with that market.

The US private placement market has carved itself quite a following among borrowers in the UK and Europe, with its enticing offer of long dated debt at tight margins. But since Britain voted to leave the European Union, agents are playing on another of the market’s strengths — its resilience to external shocks. Silas Brown investigates.

The City of London Corporation, via its endowment fund the City’s Cash, is set to enter the US private placement market for the first time. While UK councils are still a rare sight in the US PP market, agents believe they may be a fruitful asset class for the future. Silas Brown reports.

PARIS PRIVATE DEBT ROUNDTABLE European private debt markets are developing fast and diversifying — although many market participants would rather they became standardised. The Euro Private Placement market, founded in France, has not blossomed into a rival to the US PP. Many French issuers now travel to Germany’s larger Schuldschein market.

A group of US senators have proposed a bill that threatens to block the IPOs of many Chinese companies in the country, and cause the delistings of mainland stocks from US exchanges.

In this round-up, the Mainland’s industrial production and other activity slowed in May, the Chinese foreign ministry urged the US to stop interfering with the country’s ‘internal affairs’ and the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) tried to calm the market again regarding Baoshang Bank’s bailout.

In this round-up, US president Donald Trump warned of higher tariffs should his Chinese counterpart not meet him at G20, UBS’s chief economist employed questionable language when discussing the rise of Chinese consumer prices, and total exports edged up in May while exports to the US fell again.