Coronavirus

Sharjah Islamic Bank’s sukuk trade on Tuesday showed that emerging market bond investors are eager to buy the right FIG paper, which has been lacking from recent new issuance.

The Belgian debt agency has made an upward revision to its funding programme for the year after a re-examination of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. But the sovereign is closely watching the progress of the European Commission’s Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE) fund, which would result in lower borrowing from the market.

Italy’s first IPO since the Covid-19 crisis, from medical filter and mask manufacturer GVS, has been priced in Milan. Now, there is hope of further listings on the exchange, despite jitters among domestic investors.

Sovereign, supranational and agency bond issuers are mobilising their resources to support the fight against Covid-19. The below table details the bonds they have issued, specifically in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

OCBC Group plans to hire more than 3,000 people in Singapore this year.

As sovereigns and corporates from all corners of the word suffer rating downgrades at an alarming rate, Brazilian meatpacker JBS bucked the trend on Tuesday as Fitch upgraded the borrower to BB+, just one notch away from investment grade status.

Honduras is planning to price a new 10-year bond on Wednesday after tightening guidance significantly as EM debt caught the US Federal Reserve-driven rally in fixed income markets.

The New Development Bank was not able to claim a seat among the top supranational borrowers as it brought its debut dollar benchmark on Tuesday, pricing at a spread of over 30bp to the premium triple-A rated names, according to on-looking SSA bankers.

UK listed product inspection company Intertek is looking to sell US private placements, according to sources, as the market struggles to entice companies away from bond issuance and bank lending.

Asset managers are set to face bigger demands for equity funding later in the year, despite having already thrown billions at the market as companies attempted to survive the coronavirus pandemic. A source close to BlackRock said it had already committed $18bn-equivalent in equity funding to European companies during the crisis but inflows from US investors will help it and its peers buy into the deals to come.

The Republic of Belarus is taking a second run at the new issue market after its first round of marketing ran into Covid-19.

La Mondiale took advantage of a sudden improvement in market conditions this week to strengthen its capital structure with the sale of a new tier two. The French insurer was able to launch its deal 5bp through fair value.