Middle East & Turkey
Damac Properties Dubai Co is reportedly in talks with banks for a potential sukuk as it looks to refinance existing liabilities, according to a note from Bloomberg. The company could look to partly refinance a US$650mn bond due 2019.
Turkey's Garanti Bank placed a benchmark-sized bond in the international capital markets this week. The US$500mn notes due 2023 were priced at par to yield 5.875%. Banco Bilbao (BBVA), Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, and SMBC Nikko Capital managed the trade.
Africa
Nigeria's total debt rose to NGN17.36tn (approx. US$56bn) as of Dec. 2016 from NGN12.60tn a year earlier, the country's Debt Management Office revealed this week.
HTA Group, part of Helios Towers Africa, placed its debut corporate bond in the international capital markets week. The company priced US$600mn 5-year notes at 9.125%.
Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) this week issued a US$45mn bond maturing in 2021. The notes were sold at par and yield 3MLIBOR+1.7%. National Bank of Abu Dhabi was sole bookrunner on the trade.
African Development Bank this week sold US$2.5bn in 3-year notes. The notes maturing 202 were sold at 99.852% to yield 1.92%. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Daiwa Securities, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and TD Securities were bookrunners on the trade.
Americas
Brazilian foodstuffs producer Marfrig Global Foods placed a US$750mn bond in international markets this week. The company priced the notes maturing 2024 at 98.646% to yield 7.25%. BB Securities, Banco Bradesco, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, and Banco Santander led the sale.
Mexico’s Foreign Relations Minister Luis Videgaray told local press that the country will kick off NAFTA negotiations this summer, and will aim to conclude talks by the end of the year.
Brazilian electricity producer Potami Energia SA plans to raise up to BRL42.4mn in debentures maturing 2026, according to a note from Fitch. The proceeds from the sale will be used to finance the expansion of the Delta 2 wind farm.
Asia
Chinese property developer KWG Property Holding placed US$400mn in notes due in 2022. The bond was priced at par to yield 6%. Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, and Standard Chartered Bank were bookrunners on the trade.
Malaysian lender CIMB Bank Berhad placed US$1bn in dual tranche notes this week, with one US$500mn 2020 tranche yielding 3MLIBOR+0.8% and a US$500mn 2022 tranche yielding 3.263%. CIMB Group, Citigroup, JP Morgan, and Standard Chartered Bank managed the sale.
Singapore's Central Bank has completed trials that involve using digital currency technology for a distributed ledger system for interbank payments. "MAS has plans for two spin-off projects that will leverage the lessons of the inter-bank payments project. The first project, driven by the Singapore Exchange (SGX), focuses on making the fixed income securities trading and settlement cycle more efficient through DLT. The second project focuses on new methods to conduct cross border payments using central bank digital currency," the Monetary Authority of Singapore said.
A number of Indian banks risk missing coupon payments due to undercapitalisation ahead of the phase-in of Basel III rules, according to Basel III. "Fitch’s analysis indicates that the total capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of 12 banks was at or below the 11.5% minimum that will be a prerequisite for payment of coupons on both legacy and Basel III AT1 capital instruments by FYE19," Fitch said. “The RBI’s recent decision to allow banks to make additional Tier 1 (AT1) coupon payments from statutory reserves may have helped mitigate short-term coupon-deferral risks, but state banks’ reserves are likely to continue falling."
Russia, CIS and Europe
Fitch has placed Halyk Bank’s 'BB' rating on 'negative watch' and has also placed the 'CCC' rating of Kazkommertsbank on 'evolving watch' as the two lenders continue to hash out an agreement that would see Halyk Bank buy a controlling stake in Kazkommertsbank. Analysts say the deal is unlikely to go through if Kazkommertsbank receives substantial financial support from the state or lenders.
