Standard Chartered

AIA Group has issued a $1.75bn subordinated bond, which will be the first to qualify as tier two capital under a new regulatory framework in the works in Hong Kong. Alice Huang reports.

The Republic of Korea wowed investors in the dollar and euro markets on Wednesday, with a record $1.45bn-equivalent dual-tranche bond. The deal, split between 10 year dollar and five year euro notes, was priced at ultra-tight spreads — including a negative yield for the euro tranche. Morgan Davis reports.

The World Bank has selected a trio of banks for a new 15 year Sustainable Development Bond (SDB), its first euro benchmark of its 2020/21 fiscal year. Elsewhere, the Republic of Korea scooped €700m with its return to the euro market after a six year absence.

Singapore’s United Overseas Bank has bagged the lowest yield globally for a Basel-III compliant tier two dollar bond, breaking the record set by its peer Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp just last week.

Mercedes-Benz Auto Finance scored a tightly priced Rmb6.26bn ($914m) dual tranche auto securitization trade on Tuesday. The senior tranche was priced inside comparable levels, a first for the issuer and a rarity in China's auto ABS market.

The Kingdom of Bahrain, one of only two sub-investment grade sovereigns in the Gulf, is tapping markets for its second bond of the year. The mandate comes just weeks after Bahrain increased its debt ceiling as Gulf states grapple with the impact of low oil prices and Covid-19 on their spending plans.

CPI Ronghe Financial Leasing, a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned State Power Investment Corp, has returned to the loan market for $150m.

Investors rewarded Zhenro Properties Group for selling its first green bond this week, pumping orders into the $350m transaction and allowing the issuer to price the deal at its lowest coupon ever.

Bank of Communications used its Hong Kong arm for a tightly priced dual-tranche deal on Thursday, bringing back floating rate and fixed rate combo bonds for Chinese financial credits.

Indonesian company Sarana Multi Infrastruktur (SMI) has increased the size of its loan to $700m after seeing strong traction from banks during syndication.

NewOcean Energy Holdings is seeking consent from banks to postpone a principal payment on a $150m loan signed in 2016.

The Arab Republic of Egypt — a frequent bond issuer — has signed its first syndicated loan. Egypt’s debut in the market, bankers said, is an attempt to diversify its funding to support an expanding state budget, just months after its debut green bond was delayed due to Covid-19. Mariam Meskin reports.