VTB Capital

Bond buyers showed strong appetite for Russian Railways’ new dollar benchmark on Wednesday morning despite pricing levels seen as tight by sector analysts.

Buoyant secondary markets are continuing to provide ideal conditions for equity sellers to trade blocks. This week has already brought notable sales in France, Finland, Sweden and Russia.

Shares in Rusal, the largest aluminium producer in Russia, closed 3.9% lower in Hong Kong on Tuesday after Onexim, an investment vehicle controlled by Mikhail Prokhorov, the billionaire owner of the Brooklyn Nets, sold 3.3% of his stake in the company for HK$1.8bn ($240m), through an accelerated bookbuild launched on Monday night.

Adorabella Ltd, a vehicle controlled by billionaire Andrey Guryev and his family, has sold a 4.5% stake in PhosAgro, the Russian maker of phosphate-based fertilizers, for Rb14.8bn ($250m) via an accelerated bookbuild on Wednesday night that was covered in an hour.

Europe’s equity block trade market kicked into a higher gear this week, with a rush of deals including big trades in Lonza, Worldpay and Dong Energy. The Dong trade on Thursday night, worth Dkr6.5bn (€874m), pushes the week’s total above €3bn.

Tonight’s hail of block trades includes, besides the Lonza and Zoopla deals, at least two other transactions.

Morgan Stanley has hired an ex-Barclays emerging markets credit trader with over 20 years experience for its EM credit trading desk in London.

Russian Eurobond volumes will be higher in 2017 as corporate borrowers rush to take advantage of strong investor demand amid expectations that the US will soften its stance on sanctions towards Russia, say Russian bankers.

Bankers hope 2017 will prove a more vibrant year for Russian IPOs, after the country's stockmarket was one of Europe's best performers last year and Western investors are thawing towards it.

Mozambique did not make a $60m coupon payment on its 2023 sovereign bonds due on Wednesday, and as it entered the subsequent grace period, creditors say there is “zero chance of the payment happening”.

Holding Slovenske Elektrarne (HSE), the Slovenian state-owned power generation company, has agreed a €220m loan to refinance debt and extend its maturity profile.

RussNeft, the Russian oil company controlled by Mikhail Gutseriev, has completed its oversubscribed Rb32.3bn ($502m) IPO on the Moscow Exchange.