MUFG

The European corporate bond market had to wait just one day for the first new issue of 2019. Some participants had expected volatility in the global financial markets to result in a blank first week for corporates, but finance subsidiaries of Renault and Toyota opted to start their financing for the year on Thursday.

MUFG went to the buy-side to hire a new head of institutional investor sales for the US.

It has only been four years, but the European bond markets have become attached to the kindly hand of Mother ECB. Quantitative easing has been like an electric motor on the market’s bicycle — in 2019, it will have to go back to doing all the pedalling itself. Can the market do it without falling off, when the road ahead is so bumpy?

Housing Development Finance Corp is taking the Samurai loan route for its second syndicated financing of the year.

Issuer rating: A2/A

At least three high-grade borrowers in the US bond market stood down on Thursday as supply windows snapped shut and scotched hopes of a final flurry of supply before year end.

German business software company SAP used its rarity value when it printed a €1.5bn triple tranche deal in March. However, that strategy may no longer be possible, after it sold the largest ever corporate bond priced in December to help fund its recently announced €8bn cash acquisition of experience management software provider Qualtrics.

Policy lender China Development Bank printed a dual-currency, three-tranche transaction on Tuesday, raising $2.4bn-equivalent. While it paid just a couple of basis points of new issue premium for the dollar bonds amid a short-lived market rally, demand for the euro portion exceeded expectations.

Four borrowers piled into the dollar bond market on Thursday, adding to one of the busiest weeks of the year despite tough market conditions. UK telecoms company BT led the charge with a $1.35bn two-part deal.

Indian state-owned Power Finance Corp had to abandon a new change of control language to keep investors focused on its $500m 10 year bond issuance, which was printed amid talks of a possible merger.

Semen Indonesia has launched senior syndication for a $1.28bn loan that will be used to buy the local operations of rival LafargeHolcim.

Mercuria Energy Group bagged a bigger-than-expected $1.35bn from its latest annual revolver in Asia, after 36 banks joined the deal.