MUFG

The European Central Bank has announced a reduction to the pace of its quantitative easing programme, conforming to the expectations of analysts and likely avoiding any major dislocation in eurozone spreads.

Has Europe’s corporate bond market ever been hotter than today? Perhaps, but Monday’s four investment grade deals totalling €7.4bn offered ample evidence of extraordinary demand — not least, what is believed to be the most tightly priced corporate hybrid capital issue ever, for Danone.

Dutch grid operator Stedin, formerly part of Eneco, was one of several issuers that met with investors before announcing deals this week. It had been discussing a sub-benchmark three year to five year floating rate note and a benchmark eight year fixed rate note, for what was essentially its bond market debut.

Corporate bonds that are executed on Fridays are often brought then to give issuers some space in crowded markets, but in an otherwise quiet week French electricity grid operator Réseau de Transport d’Électricité had little competition for investor attention last Friday as it printed the longest dated deal of the week.

A $2.5bn refinancing by Reliance Industries (RIL) and its telecommunications arm, Reliance Jio Infocomm, has been opened to retail participants.

MUFG has hired a new head of Middle East capital markets in Dubai as Jonathan Segal relocates to London to focus on Europe.

All four investment grade benchmark corporate bond deals that priced last week were from utilities. On Tuesday, Italian multi-services utility, Iren, and Dutch grid operator, Stedin, took the count to six.

The mandate for Reliance Industries’ $2.5bn refinancing has been revealed. The deal will consist of three portions, the bulk of which will replace a $1.5bn loan taken by one of its subsidiaries in late 2014.

Corporate bond deals are often executed on Fridays to give issuers some space in crowded weeks. However, Friday was one the busiest days of this week, with both euro and sterling investors offered long dated deals to consider.

Innogy, the German utility split off from RWE in April 2016, on Wednesday announced it would be holding investor calls about a new benchmark 10 year debut green bond issue. Later in the day, Standard & Poor’s upgraded the issuer to BBB.

Italian gas utility Snam repeated the new issue-and-tender strategy it used in 2016 as it printed its third ever 10 year bond on Tuesday. The company was not able to replicate the zero new issue premium it achieved 12 months ago, but did still price at a very tight spread.

Indian state-owned company Power Finance Corp (PFC) has sent a request for proposals for a loan of up to $300m, seven months after a failed attempt to raise $100m-equivalent from a 10 year deal.