Loans and High Yield

The European Union’s Taxonomy of Sustainable Economic Activities, the cornerstone of its action on sustainable finance, looks set to bless several technologies such as biofuels and hydroelectric power that are not just environmentally questionable but actively harmful, as a result of lobbying by vested interests.

Almost half of members who responded to a Loan Market Association survey expect syndicated volumes in EMEA to increase in 2021, as optimism builds around the effect of Covid-19 vaccines.

E-House (China) Enterprise Holdings was the only issuer in the dollar bond market in Asia on Thursday, raising $200m.

Indonesian textile products manufacturer Sri Rejeki Isman, better known as Sritex, is planning to extend a dollar loan closed in 2019 by two years.

Travel company Tui announced its third bailout package since March on Wednesday, adding a substantial equity cheque to more state-backed debt, as troubled companies shift their focus from emergency cash to stable capital structures. A sharp rally in the company’s shares helped firm up the rescue package, but some questioned whether the new money will be enough.

Webuild, the Italian construction company formerly known as Salini Impregilo, has launched a refinancing of its €600m 2021 bond, after finally completing the takeover of stricken competitor Astaldi at the beginning of last month. The new tender offer is intended to finish a refi attempt started in January, which received lacklustre take-up.

AIIB's Mills Hagen leaves for Opec Fund — Horta Osório to chair Credit Suisse, replaced by Nunn — Mulderrig to head up European debt syndicate at UBS

The European Leveraged Finance Association, a trade body of investors, has slammed terms in the $1bn buyout bond for Ancestry.com which cap investor voting rights, hoping to stop the new feature in its tracks and prevent sponsors including it in European transactions.

Hong Kong property company New World Development Co used a fixed-for-life perpetual structure to net $700m on Wednesday.

Shares in Fugro, the Dutch geo-data specialist, rose by over 7.5% in trading on Wednesday after the company set terms for a €197m rights issue. The cash call is part of a comprehensive refinancing package that finally resolves longstanding issues around debt maturity.

BC Partners-owned advanced ceramics company CeramTec has issued an add-on to its term loan 'B', raising another €175m — enough to push its senior secured rating down into the single-B category. But the opportunistic move to raise new cash will give the company firepower for future M&A.

Moody’s has changed its outlook on the EMEA corporate sector from negative to stable, though lenders say they are still on standby for another deluge of financing requests if the economic recovery is scuppered.