Hungary

Hungary priced its debut Panda bond just before 5pm on Wednesday, completing the second onshore renminbi bond deal by a European sovereign.

The Eastern European sovereign announced the price guidance for its three year debut Panda bond on July 25, after agreeing on a Rmb3bn ($445m) Panda programme with onshore authorities last week.

British Columbia has hired Bank of China (BOC) for its second Panda deal, GlobalRMB has learned. Meanwhile, Hungary has chosen BOC and HSBC for a long-awaited Panda debut with a prospectus expected on Friday.

Shares in Waberer's International, the Hungarian haulage firm, closed 0.5% above their offer price when they began trading in Budapest on Thursday, after the company restructured its IPO during bookbuild due to weakened investor sentiment towards east European issuers.

Hungarian haulage firm Waberer’s International priced its Huf22.6bn (€73.1m) IPO today after slashing the amount of secondary shares on account of tepid demand, though the bookrunners said the outcome was favourable in the end.

The governor of People’s Bank of China says Chinese banks must face international competition, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) considers changes in Stock Connect daily trading quotas after MSCI’s A-share inclusion, and the Hong Kong Exchange plans to launch CNH and dollar gold futures on July 10.

Waberer’s International, the Hungarian haulage firm, launched a Huf73.7bn (€238m) IPO on the Budapest Stock Exchange on Monday, offering shares at a chunky discount to its US peers.

On Wednesday evening, Indigo Partners, the private equity group, came to market to offload its entire 18.7% stake in Wizz Air Holdings, the London-listed Hungarian low-cost airline, through an accelerated bookbuild that was covered inside an hour.

Oil and gas company MOL became the first Hungarian issuer in the Schuldschein market this week. And, as the market expands further from Germany, there is no sign that credit quality will become less central to an issuer’s success.

Shares in Mol, the Hungarian oil and gas company, fell 3.4% early on Thursday morning but recovered to close flat, after Čez Group, the Czech electricity company, sold its whole 7.5% stake in Mol through an accelerated bookbuild, while buying back bonds it had issued that were exchangeable into Mol shares.

Reducing Hungary’s FX liabilities continues to be one of its debt management office’s (AKK) driving factors, but CEO György Barcza also remains committed to diversifying the country’s funding sources. With a Japanese yen bond maturing, and a €1bn bond planned, 2017 looks set to offer investors some rare opportunities to buy into Hungary’s improving debt story.

Emerging market bankers are optimistic for a busy first quarter after markets opened on Tuesday in a much stronger position than they had a year ago. Sovereign issuers from the Middle East and CEE are expected to lead the charge.