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Another record year for Asian bond issues saw one bank make jumbo deals and new structures look easy. For a track record of successful deals across the region and for leading the way in bank capital, HSBC is IFR Asia’s Bond House of the Year and Domestic Bond House of the Year.
Among a growing number of jumbo investment-grade issues out of Asia this year, Hutchison Whampoa’s 144A/Reg S offering stood out for its record-breaking size, smart timing, swift execution and wide distribution. The Hong Kong-based ports-to-telecoms conglomerate made a stylish return to the bond market at the end of October after a gap of two years to raise an impressive US$5.4bn across two currencies and three tranches. Split into a US$2bn 1.625% three-year, a US$1.5bn 3.625% 10-year and a €1.5bn 1.375% seven-year, the issue broke the record...
Taking advantage of strong investor demand for exposure to the reawakening Indian economy, Tata Steel made its US dollar debut in style, raising US$1.5bn from a dual-tranche bond. The steel-maker had only tapped the offshore bond market once before 2014, with a Singapore dollar print the previous year, and there was pent-up demand from investors when it finally burst into the US dollar market. Tata Steel announced two tranches, one for 5.5 years and one for 10, to balance its maturities, and the structure helped the steel-maker achieve its aims...
In a year when bank capital securities took centre stage in Asia, the first Additional Tier 1 offering from China proved the most ambitious, as well as the most significant. Bank of China faced the daunting goal of raising Rmb40bn (US$6.5bn) in the international markets with an issue specifically designed to comply with loss-absorption rules under Basel III – an as-yet untested concept in Asia. To add to the challenge, China’s regulations required all bond issues to have a maturity date, meaning that the offering had to be structured as a...
In a challenging environment and amid stiff competition from the bond market, one bank stood out with its smarter approach. For its track record of sole mandates and a diverse list of innovative deals, Standard Chartered is IFR Asia’s Loan House of the Year.
When Indonesia’s CT Corp started talks with lenders for a US$1.275bn loan in November 2013, it faced an uphill struggle. Indonesia was facing a raft of macroeconomic problems, including weak growth, an outflow of foreign capital and a deteriorating currency. With its business relying on rupiah revenue, lifting CT Corp’s leverage ratio was a bold move as it was looking for underwriting commitments amid a currency crisis. The fact that it had already raised a US$750m three-year loan only eight months earlier made the effort even more challenging...
In an uncertain year, one bank combined its Asian expertise and global platform to raise funds for top-tier clients. For its continued dominance of market-defining deals, Goldman Sachs is IFR Asia’s Equity House of the Year.
The US$25bn New York Stock Exchange listing of Alibaba Group has transformed the Chinese e-commerce giant into one of the world’s best-known – and most valuable – companies, but its significance goes far beyond that. The biggest IPO in history lifted valuations across the emerging Chinese technology sector. It prompted a review of listing rules in Hong Kong, Also, it showed just what is possible with the right approach to the capital markets. Alibaba’s performance since listing – it rose 38% on day one and ended IFR’s review period up 69% – has...
Equity-linked issuance was far from easy in 2014, but one bank delivered consistently across a wide range of markets. For its sound market judgment and for sticking by its clients, Credit Suisse is IFR Asia’s Structured Equity House of the Year.
In a turbulent year for Thailand, CP Foods managed to bring a new structure to market, achieve aggressive terms and time the offering to perfection, raising US$290.4m from an exchangeable bond just three days before street protests brought issuance to a standstill. Structured as Thailand’s first exchangeable bond, CP Foods avoided the need for early disclosure and a shareholder vote required to issue a convertible bond, meaning the issuer was able to come to market far quicker. It scored a coupon of just 0.5% and exchange premium of 30%, the...
Indonesia’s coal sector kept restructuring advisers busy in 2014, but only one company reached an agreement with its creditors without sliding into default. Mining services group Bukit Makmur Mandiri Utama recognised early on that a global downturn in the coal industry would hurt its ability to service its debt, and took steps to deal with its US$825m debt load well ahead of maturity. Its pre-emptive approach was in stark contrast to the complex post-default workouts that remain a feature in Indonesia. It put Buma in a better position to ride...
China’s burgeoning securitisation market stepped up a gear in 2014 as six companies won approval to issue securities backed against auto loans, but Volkswagen’s local financing unit went the extra mile to introduce global standards to the domestic arena. Volkswagen Finance’s Rmb796m (US$130m) Driver China One brought international credit ratings to a domestic Chinese securitisation for the first time, with rankings from both Moody’s and Fitch. The structure allowed VW to manage its local finances without compromising on its global standards,...
Islamic bonds made some important headway globally in 2014, and Malaysia Building Society’s M$495m (US$147m) structured covered sukuk was a major step in opening more funding avenues in Asia’s biggest Sharia-compliant market. MBS was keen to tap the bond markets to take advantage of positive funding conditions, but its standalone rating of A2 from local agencies posed a barrier because Single A credits do not appeal to local institutional investors. Despite the lack of legislation for covered bonds in Malaysia, RHB found a solution with...
Wireless telecommunications operator Banglalink Digital Communications had a mountain to climb with its debut offshore issue. Its home country, Bangladesh, had never issued an international sovereign bond, meaning there were no risk-free, let alone corporate, benchmarks to allow investors to judge relative value. As more of Asia’s frontier markets make their marks in the global arena, Banglalink’s US$300m high-yield bond proved that the region’s leading companies can access international capital in their own rights, and do not necessarily...