Coronavirus

As equity derivatives investors and traders dust themselves off from the Covid-19 panic that gripped the market in spring, thoughts are turning to the US election and how to position for it.

After making its highly anticipated debut in the international capital markets with a dollar benchmark this week, New Development Bank is looking to build a diversified funding programme, with euro and sterling-denominated bonds on the agenda for 2020. The new supranational has also set itself a target to become a triple-A rated issuer.

Austria and Belgium could bring syndicated transactions as early as next week, according to SSA bankers, after both sovereigns recently announced bigger funding programmes in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Warner Music Group issued a dual currency refi on Tuesday and Wednesday, taking advantage of a US Federal Reserve-fuelled market to lock in tighter pricing and a maturity extension. The deal comes hot on the heels of its IPO, planned before the coronavirus pandemic struck but executed only last week.

Canvest Environmental Protection Group Co, a Hong Kong-based waste-to-energy company, has returned to the loan market for a HK$1.97bn ($251.6m) unsecured deal. In an unusual move, the firm will postpone its covenant tests for the first six months. Pan Yue reports.

Helvetia Holding, the Swiss insurance group, has raised Sfr300m from equity investors to fund its acquisition of Spanish insurer Caser, which it announced in January.

Taylor Wimpey, one of the UK’s largest house builders, has raised £522m in equity capital to acquire land that it thinks will have fallen in value as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has approved loans totalling $1.2bn to India and Pakistan to help the two countries combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

The government of Belize will launch a consent solicitation in early July asking bondholders to agree to delay all interest payments due before February, it said on Wednesday. With a general election due in November, this would effectively leave the next government to decide whether further debt negotiations are required.

The European Investment Bank and the State of Brandenburg have mandated banks to bring euro deals on Thursday, in what has been an extremely thin week for supply with issuers well funded and some weakness in secondaries.

Heathrow is asking its high yield creditors to waive covenants it expects to breach this year in a return for a new commitment to a minimum cash level, a boost to coupon payments and a cancellation of any dividends, as it grapples with an 81% dive in earnings.

One of the sectors so far unscathed through the pandemic, in the eyes of institutional investors, has been UK social housing. Deals from housing associations have been priced during the crisis, as several institutions have said their resolve to invest in the sector remains undimmed.