Société Générale

Emerging market bond mandates are continuing into the last month of the year, despite expectations that activity would quieten down after a jam-packed year of issuance. Kuwait’s Burgan Bank and Montenegro are among some of the CEEMEA issuers seeking to take advantage of unfalteringly attractive credit conditions.

Sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) have hogged much of the limelight in the socially responsible investment markets this year. But transition bonds, which had fallen out of favour for some time, have demonstrated there is clear demand for the product, following a strong deal for Snam this week and guidelines due for release in the coming days, writes Mike Turner.

Volkswagen International Finance “aggressively” priced through its secondary curve when it issued a €500m medium term note on Tuesday.

Turkey's largest city, the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, hit markets on Wednesday, seeking to raise dollars in a rare debt-raise. The deal is one of three major bonds from Turkish issuers in the last week.

BP, the oil major, was joined at the long end of the bond market on Tuesday by railway company Deutsche Bahn, as issuers take advantage of low spreads to stretch out their debt maturities.

CNP Assurances ventured out with a rare tier three deal on Tuesday, becoming only the second issuer this year to tap the format in euros.

The UK’s SSE Renewables and Norway’s Equinor, two energy companies, have signed what lenders say is the largest ever offshore wind project financing, a £5.5bn package for a wind farm off the UK coast.

BP, the UK oil major, and car rental company Sixt have hired banks for new bonds as the end of year issuance window looks set to stretch into next month.

Snam, the Italian gas network company, has reinvigorated the transition bond market, servicing investors unable to buy sustainability-linked bonds.

The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Turkey’s largest city, and VakifBank have both mandated banks to arrange dollar bond syndications. The trades come just days after the sovereign squeezed into the market before the US Thanksgiving holiday to raise a tightly priced dollar bond.

French hotels group Accor this week became the latest issuer to tap the convertible bond market for financing in the wake of the rally in value stocks following positive Covid vaccine news in early November.

Mercuria and Gunvor, the Swiss commodity and energy trading firms, have signed credit facilities for their US businesses, with both companies adding more banks to the deals.