China Loan House: Standard Chartered

UBS continued to lead the Australian equity market in 2019, introducing innovative structures and helping clients raise funds in volatile market conditions. UBS topped the Australia/New Zealand equity and equity-linked league table for IFR’s review period. It raised a total of A$6.9bn (US$4.7bn) for its clients through 37 transactions with a market share of nearly 24%, way ahead of the 15.6% for its closest competitor, according to Refinitiv data. “(Our) ECM performance and activity are really driven by the quality of people that we have in the...

In an increasingly competitive and challenging market, National Australia Bank stood out for its ability to offer a wide variety of financing solutions across the credit spectrum. “One of the key differentiators is our absolute breadth,” said Jaqueline Fox, general manager, capital markets and advisory. “When you have such breadth in your product offering and you’re structurally set up in a way that supports that, that puts the client at the centre … that best enables you to serve ultimately the best insights, quality and coverage.” NAB was...

Bank of China added a growing focus on innovation to its already strong underwriting capabilities in 2019, leveraging on its global network to inaugurate new products and new markets for Chinese issuers. In its home market, the A1/A/A rated lender in January issued the country’s first onshore perpetual bonds, after new regulations allowed the instruments for the first time. The Rmb40bn (US$5.9bn) offering of 4.5% undated Additional Tier 1 securities set a solid benchmark and paved the way for other Chinese banks to strengthen their capital....

CICC stood out in 2019 for its efforts to develop China’s new tech board and its consistent ability to deliver equity capital to Chinese companies in the onshore and offshore markets. The country’s oldest investment bank led 64 equity and equity-linked deals for Chinese issuers during the review period to raise a total of US$12bn. But it was CICC’s contribution to market development and its ability to raise capital across multiple exchanges that helped it stand out from the competition. Shanghai’s Nasdaq-style Star board welcomed its first...

The Portuguese Republic made a commanding debut in the Chinese market with a Rmb2bn (US$284m) three-year Panda bond, attracting a strong order book as the first eurozone sovereign and only the third European sovereign to sell bonds in China. Portugal, rated Baa3/BBB/BBB by the three major global rating agencies and AAA by China Lianhe, priced the three-year issue at 4.09%. Amid market volatility during the execution week, healthy demand enabled Portugal to price the transaction closer to the lower end of the initial guidance range of 3.9%–4.5%...

HSBC once again proved adept at guiding borrowers through a volatile market, especially amid trade war tensions. The bank used its combined capital markets capabilities to help clients choose between global bonds and syndicated loans and won leading roles on major financings. One of the highlights of 2019 was HSBC’s involvement as joint global coordinator, mandated lead arranger and bookrunner in the €4.56bn (US$5.03bn) triple-tranche takeout of a jumbo €10.4bn 18-month bridge facility – which HSBC jointly underwrote and coordinated in August ...

Months of anti-government protests led to a hiatus in Hong Kong IPOs during the summer, before the HK$9bn (US$1.15bn) float of Topsports International in September helped restore confidence and pave the way for a fourth-quarter rush. After a spate of giant technology IPOs in 2018, the supply of big IPOs in Hong Kong in 2019 was thin from the start. Protests starting in June further hit new stock issuances in the city, where IPO volume fell 44% in the first nine months of 2019 compared to the same period in 2018, according to Refinitiv data....

In one of the most difficult years for the Indian bond market, Barclays stood out for its ability to deliver offshore financings for a wide range of clients, helping navigate a funding crunch in the domestic market. Barclays worked on debut issues for non-bank lenders, the first perpetual bond from India’s telecom sector and a first-of-its-kind project bond, as well as the largest acquisition financing in the domestic market in the consumer sector. The bank was a lead on the US$400m debut offshore bond from Shriram Transport Finance, taking...

The Indian loan market faced new challenges in 2019 as economic growth slumped to the lowest in over six years and corporate investment dried up. Amid falling loan volumes and reduced deal flow Standard Chartered showed leadership with sole mandates, acquisition financings, repeat mandates from high-profile borrowers and successful execution. “We have focused on delivering diverse financing solutions across all key client segments – financial institutions, corporate and sponsor-backed,” said Sameer Chandra, head of loan syndications for South...

In a year when investors fled to safety in India, Bank of America made its mark with a series of marquee transactions. A federal election, a crisis in the financial sector and a worsening economic slowdown took the steam out of the Indian equity capital market in 2019, and only quality deals had a chance of winning over investors. Bank of America put its global network to good use, selling difficult deals for issuers and ensuring that investors made money. The bank topped the India equity and equity-linked league table in IFR’s review period,...

Medco Energi Internasional’s US$650m bond issue was the highlight in Indonesia’s corporate sector in 2019, showcasing the capital markets’ role in financing an overseas takeover. The Indonesian oil and gas company had in March agreed to buy London-listed Ophir Energy to broaden its business to other parts of South-East Asia, Africa and Mexico, in a transaction that valued the target at £408m (US$528m). Standard Chartered provided a US$550m one-year bridge loan, giving Medco the certainty it needed to complete the M&A, but a bond market take-out...