Reg S: 1099

Two of Australia’s four biggest banks made sizeable inroads into their newly increased capital requirements with a pair of record-breaking Tier 2 offerings that highlighted the gulf in size, tenor and pricing between local and international markets. Westpac was first out of the blocks with a stunning US$2.25bn dual-tranche SEC-registered sale last Tuesday before ANZ followed three days later with a domestic A$1.75bn (US$1.22bn) 10-year non-call five issue. The Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority requires the country’s four domestic...

International bond sales from China’s property sector show no sign of abating despite new restrictions on the use of offshore bond proceeds in a bid to clamp down on property speculation. Eight developers raised US$2.4bn from offshore bonds last week, days after the National Development and Reform Commission issued a notice on July 12 that developers would only be allowed to use offshore bonds to refinance medium or long-term offshore borrowings due to mature within a year. The notice, which does not affect existing approvals, mirrors a similar...

French public sector financial institution Caisse des Depots et Consignations priced a ¥15bn (US$140m) three-year Samurai bond at par to yield 0.06%, thought to be the lowest coupon ever achieved in the Samurai market. The quasi-sovereign’s senior unsecured bonds, expected to be rated Aa2/AA (Moody’s/S&P), still looked attractive against the three-year Japanese government bond yield of negative 0.21%. The guidance for the CDC deal was so tight that the deal was marketed in terms of absolute yield rather than the usual spread over mid-swaps, and...

Czech consumer finance company Home Credit has filed for a Hong Kong IPO, in a sign that Anheuser Busch InBev’s high-profile flop has not deterred other foreign companies from seeking to list in the city. Home Credit, part of Prague-based PPF Financial Holdings, is looking to raise about US$1bn–$1.5bn at a valuation of US$10bn, according to people with knowledge of the deal. Bookbuilding is expected in late August and listing in September. The listed company will comprise Home Credit’s operations in 11 emerging markets including China, which...

India’s non-banking financial companies are still looking to raise money in the country’s capital markets, even as analysts warn the risks of another collapse in the sector are rising. Shriram Transport Finance, one of the biggest commercial vehicle lenders, has launched a public offering of retail bonds to raise up to Rs100bn (US$1.45bn), with a minimum target of Rs3bn. Kosamattam Finance, a much smaller consumer lender specialising in gold-backed loans, also launched a Rs3bn retail bond last week. Microlender Spandana Spoorthy Financial is...

The subsidiary of a politically connected group behind a bid for toll road firm Plus Malaysia is facing potential legal action from a group of bondholders over improper transfers from one of its existing road projects. Investors holding M$1.35bn (US$333m) of Islamic bonds issued by toll road owner Bright Focus are demanding the return of funds advanced improperly to parent company Maju Holdings, raising governance issues that threaten to hurt the reputation of Malaysia’s world-leading project bond market. Lawyers representing the sukuk...

Rating agencies are having a tough time in Asia’s credit markets. The latest default scare in Indonesia had bond raters scrambling to revise their credit scores on Delta Merlin Dunia Tekstil last week, but only after bondholders had already taken a 50-point hit. In India, meanwhile, regulators are probing how Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services won top Triple A ratings from three local agencies before it defaulted last summer. Two firms have sent their chief executives on leave. Investors can be forgiven for wondering what is the...

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Game-streaming platform DouYu seized an opportunity to complete the largest China-to-US listing of the year, raising US$775m amid a pause in the US–China trade war. The Tencent-backed company last Tuesday priced 67.4m ADSs (66.6% primary/33.4% secondary) at US$11.50, the bottom of the indicative US$11.50–$14.00 range, for a 2020 P/E of 21.2 and a market capitalisation of US$3.7bn. DouYu first revealed plans to list in the US back in April with a target of US$500m, but delayed the deal in May following the escalation of trade tensions after US...

Westpac New Zealand (A1/AA–/AA–) has announced a self-led New Zealand dollar five-year MTN offering, expected to launch in the near future. The last Kiwi najor bank to issue a local five-year bond was ANZ Bank New Zealand (A1/AA–/AA–) which sold a NZ$550m 3.03% note on March 14 at mid-swaps plus 108bp. Bank of New Zealand priced a NZ$550m 3.648% note on November 14 last year at mid-swaps plus 104bp.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China is expected to issue up to Rmb80bn (US$11.6bn) perpetual bonds at initial guidance of 4.37%–4.87% this week to boost its Additional Tier 1 capital, according to market sources. Books may open this Thursday, subject to market conditions, said a banker close to the deal. Investors are likely to use the perpetual bonds of Bank of China as reference, which could point to pricing near to the tight end of guidance. “The yields for the perp bonds are likely to be higher than preference shares,” said a banker....