6 February 2012
Carlos Garcia Moreno, chief financial officer of América Móvil, talks to EuroWeek Asia about the company’s recent experience in the offshore renminbi market. read more »
06 February 2012
South Korea’s Busan Bank drew a whopping $5bn of orders for its $300m bond last week, proving the ravenous appetite for investment grade bonds despite the heavy issuance since the start of the year.
Asia Pacific debt bankers are enjoying a surge in activity since the start of the year, after closing some $14.45bn of deals. But instead of fearing a slowdown in activity after this frenzied start, they are ever more bullish about the prospects for issuance. After all, they got a helping hand last month: the Federal Reserve’s commitment to keeping rates low for the next few years has pushed some usually risk-averse investors to reconsider the bond market.
Philippine conglomerate SM Investments Corp raised $250m on Friday morning, after pricing a five year convertible bond at the most attractive end for investors.
South Korean retailer Lotte Shopping raised Rmb750m ($119m) from a five year dim sum bond last week, becoming the first issuer from the country to tap the offshore renminbi market this year.
NWS Holdings, the infrastructure division of Hong Kong conglomerate New World Development, raised $500m in the international bond market last week, pushing ahead with a deal that was put on hold last month after a string of new issues caused a temporary strain on liquidity.
03 February 2012
Hong Kong conglomerates Hutchison Whampoa and Wharf Holdings raised a combined $1.6bn this week, becoming the first issuers to test the bond market after the previous week’s Chinese New Year holidays.
ECM bankers launched two deals from Philippine companies this week, taking advantage of a rise in risk appetite among global investors after Chinese New Year — and the strong performance of Petron Corp’s recent deal.
Samsung Securities decided this week to shut its overseas businesses to focus on its domestic market, forcing more than half of its Hong Kong staff out of their jobs. The move leaves just specialist equity sales teams in the firm’s overseas offices, and they will now focus on pitching to global investors interested in South Korea’s domestic market.
Indonesian shipping company Berlian Laju Tanker is considering a possible debt restructuring and has yet to decide whether to continue with interest payments. It froze repayments on its outstanding debt at the end of last week after telling investors that one of its subsidiaries had breached a loan covenant.
The shine has come off the offshore renminbi market. Funding costs are rising, bond investors are posturing and some analysts now think that renminbi deposits in Hong Kong will fall this year, after an almost unbroken growth streak for the past two years. That is bad news for loans bankers.
Mexican telecommunications company America Movil priced its first offshore renminbi bond this week, becoming the first foreign company this year to tap the market. It was also the first dim sum bond sold from a bond programme registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, said bankers.
Philippine Airlines plans to raise around $50m from offshore lenders, after asking Credit Suisse to increase the size of a bilateral loan it signed last year. The deal offers potential lenders a novel structure — an amortising deal that pays a steady stream of receivables from credit card bookings for the airline’s flights.
ECM bankers: gently does it as Chinese New Year approaches
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