Coronavirus

A strong performance in the restricted tier one (RT1) instruments has put the niche insurance bond market in the spotlight recently. Some investors have made strong returns from the asset class, as valuations have recovered during the coronavirus crisis.

The European Stability Mechanism is looking at creating a socially responsible bond framework to fund its pandemic crisis package of credit lines to support euro area member states in the financing costs related to the Covid-19 crisis.

SK Biopharmaceuticals is set to reopen the South Korean IPO market with a W959.3bn ($779.9m) listing, according to a source close to the deal.

After the coronavirus crisis, new patterns of work and travel are expected to change the nature of financial hubs such as London. However, Michael Mainelli, one of the sheriffs of the City of London, says that the UK capital is well placed to remain an attractive location for business.

JP Morgan and Nomura have started the syndication of the loan backing Bridgepoint’s buyout of French mortgage insurance broker Financière CEP, in a sign that market conditions have improved enough to fire the starting gun on the sale of loans underwritten before the coronavirus crisis shut markets.

Investors poured into an accelerated trade in Swiss biopharmaceutical company Idorisia on Tuesday night, causing bookrunners to grow the deal by 1m shares. The success of the deal shows how highly investors value growth in the depressed economic environment of the Covid-19 pandemic.

France and Germany’s proposal for a €500bn recovery fund to fight the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, though it has delighted investors in periphery eurozone government bonds, will not make it without a fight. The so-called “Frugal Four” — Sweden, Austria, Denmark and the Netherlands — have made their objections known.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group took advantage of the strong appetite for senior debt in dollars this week, issuing $1.6bn of funding across two tranches. The deal, which included the first dollar issuance of green UK bank paper, offered no premium to investors.

Exasol, the German database analytics firm, priced its IPO on the Frankfurt stock exchange on Tuesday, attracting vast levels of demand from investors, despite books only being open for two and a half days.

Genting Hong Kong, a cruise ship operator, has sent out a waiver request to lenders to postpone the principal payments on a $300m loan, as it navigates challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

What is the significance of the agreement between German chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron on a European recovery package, funded through EU debt? GlobalCapital discussed it with Shahin Vallée, a senior fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) and previously an economic adviser to Macron when he was France’s economy minister.

Decisive economic measures from Ecuador’s government could help curry favour with bondholders ahead of a debt restructuring, said analysts, as Argentina provided an ideal template of what not to do.