It priced SFr200m of the shorter at plus
90bp and SFr140m of the longer at 130bp.
That equated to yields of 0.017% and 0.658%,
a rarity in the franc sector with its highly
negative rate environment.
Syngenta has franc paper due in 2024 and
ûSOûTHEûNEWûDEALSûmESHûOUTûTHEûCURVEû
well with maturities in December 2022 and
2026.
Both outstanding bonds had widened out
quite dramatically over the past month, by
11bp and 23bp, with 8.5bp and 13.5bp of
that move coming overnight, according to
Tradeweb data. Other Swiss chemical,
pharma and life science-focused companies
had only widened 2bp–3bp over the period.
It also has a US$750m bond due in April
this year, which the new Swiss franc deals
WILLûPRESUMABLYûPARTûRElNANCE
,EADûOFlCIALSûREPORTEDûMINIMALûNEGATIVEû
feedback on the credit. While some
investors are not allowed to buy crossover
names, those that could were almost all in
the book. There were 44 accounts on the
shorter tranche and 57 on the longer.
A combination of the well-known name
and a commitment to keep at least two
investment-grade ratings, which keeps
bonds index eligible, helped the transaction
THRIVEûINûAûVERYûDIFlCULTûMARKETAn all-Swiss investor group was headed by
asset managers and private banks, which
together took more than 80% of the shorter
tranche and more than 90% of the longer.
New issue premiums were around 15bp
and 45bp, respectively, against Syngenta’s
highly illiquid Swiss curve, depending on
where and when the outstandings were
spotted. The bonds came inside Syngenta’s
more liquid US dollar and euro curves when
ADJUSTEDûFORûTHEûCURRENCYûBASISûSWAP
The bonds are guaranteed by Syngenta
AG, rated Ba2/BBB–/BBB. Credit Suisse and UBS
WEREûJOINTûBOOKRUNNERSNON-CORE CURRENCIES
STATNETT SET FOR GREEN FIRST AS
NORWEGIAN ELECTRIFICATION SPEEDS UPSTATNETT is mulling over the issuance of
benchmark green bonds denominated in
Norwegian kroner and Swedish kronor with
tenors ranging from three to eight years,
WHICHûWILLûBEûTHEûISSUERSûlRSTûINûTHEûFORMAT
The state-owned Norwegian electricity
transmission operator has picked
Handelsbanken and SEB to introduce its newly
established green bond framework to themarket this week (March 3–4) and to market
the proposed notes.
“We have seen very good interest from
both Norwegian and Swedish investors since
the mandate announcement,” a banker
close to the deal said. “In this turbulent
environment, that is very positive.”
Credit markets sold off heavily last week
as concerns about how fast the coronavirus
is spreading took their toll.
The green bond framework was set up
amid expectations that increased demand
FORûELECTRIlCATIONûFROMûTHEû.ORWEGIANû
offshore oil and gas industry would call for
substantial grid expansions.
3TATNETTûWILLûUSEûTHEûGREENûDEBTûTOûlNANCEû
PROJECTSûDEDICATEDûTOûCONNECTINGûNEWû
renewable power generation, to grid
reinforcement or upgrades, and to
interconnectors.
Proceeds will probably be allocated at
respective shares of 15%, 35% and 50% across
these three categories. Of note, none of the
PROCEEDSûWILLûBEûUSEDûTOûlNANCEûDIRECTûLINKSû
to offshore oil and gas platforms.
Cicero has allotted the framework a
governance score of Excellent and a Dark
Green shading, its highest ranking. The
OPINIONûPROVIDERûALSOûSPECIlEDûTHATûPROJECTSû
under the scheme will have shadings
between medium and dark green.
Norway’s capital markets have witnessed
a substantial increase in ESG focus over the
past couple of years, and market
participants believe it is the Norwegian
authorities that have triggered the boost.
“We have seen greater interest among the
largest investors such as hedge funds, and
more issuers from a broader variety of
sectors. And, on the lending side, banks
have started providing ESG-focused
products,” said the banker.
,ASTûYEAR ûTHEûlNANCEûMINISTRYûANNOUNCEDû
that Norway’s US$1.1trn sovereign fund
would divest itself of companies solely
dedicated to oil and gas exploration and
production, in a bid to shield itself from a
long-term fall in oil prices.
More recently, at the beginning of
February, Norway enhanced its emissions
reduction target under the Paris Agreement.
The kingdom aims to cut emissions “by at
least 50% and towards 55% compared with
1990 levels by 2030”. The previous target
was set at 40% in March 2015.WESTLINK MARKETS LOCAL MTNWSO FINANCE ûTHEûlNANCINGûENTITYûFORû
Westlink Motorway Group, rated A3/A–
(Moody’s/Fitch), has mandated CBA and
Westpac to arrange investor meetings
beginning March 10 for a potential 10-year
or longer Australian dollar note offering.
In March 2017, WSO Finance raised32 International Financing Review February 29 2020ALL US INVESTMENT GRADE CORPORATE DEBT
BOOKRUNNERS: 1/1/2020 TO DATE
Managing No of Total Share
bank or group issues US$(m) (%)Source: Refinitiv SDC code: F91 JP Morgan 89 25,219.15 11.4
2 Morgan Stanley 58 22,213.51 10.0
3 Citigroup 76 20,096.48 9.1
4 BofA 80 17,673.36 8.0
5 Goldman Sachs 49 16,402.68 7.4
6 Barclays 40 11,932.06 5.4
7 Wells Fargo 48 10,822.50 4.9
8 MUFG 34 7,896.62 3.6
9 RBC 35 6,762.09 3.0
10 HSBC 26 6,545.23 3.0
Total 183 221,753.63ALL CORPORATE BONDS IN EUROS
BOOKRUNNERS: 1/1/2020 TO DATE
Managing No of Total Share
bank or group issues €(m) (%)Excluding equity-related debt. FIGs, ABS/MBS.
Source: Refinitiv SDC code: N81 Barclays 19 5,282.05 7.4
2 HSBC 24 4,988.29 7.0
3 JP Morgan 25 4,852.97 6.8
4 BNP Paribas 32 4,576.88 6.4
5 Deutsche Bank 24 3,651.16 5.1
6 Citigroup 19 3,439.00 4.8
7 SG 20 2,968.79 4.2
8 UniCredit 20 2,625.24 3.7
9 BofA 17 2,607.70 3.7
10 Credit Agricole 17 2,566.06 3.6
Total 90 71,170.32ALL CORPORATE BONDS IN STERLING
BOOKRUNNERS: 1/1/2020 TO DATE
Managing No of Total Share
bank or group issues £(m) (%)Source: Refinitiv SDC code: N8a1 Barclays 9 1,166.77 16.8
2 JP Morgan 6 910.00 13.1
3 BNP Paribas 6 593.89 8.5
4 HSBC 5 505.12 7.3
5 NatWest Markets 5 480.21 6.9
6 Lloyds Bank 4 455.46 6.5
7 RBC 4 448.66 6.4
8 Citigroup 3 439.30 6.3
9 Deutsche Bank 2 297.89 4.3
10 Mizuho 2 208.52 3.0
Total 13 6,965.76ALL SWISS FRANC BONDS INCLUDING
SECURITISATIONS
BOOKRUNNERS: 1/1/2020 TO DATE
Managing No of Total Share
bank or group issues SFr(m) (%)Including preferreds. Excluding equity-related debt.
Source: Refinitiv1 Credit Suisse 32 4,168.7 38.7
2 Verband 9 2,077.6 19.3
3 UBS 22 2,074.4 19.2
4 Raiffeisen 10 750.4 7.0
5 Deutsche Bank 5 726.0 6.7
6 ZKB 9 679.6 6.3
7 BNP Paribas 2 217.1 2.0
8 Commerzbank 1 92.5 0.9
Total 51 10,786.36 IFR Bonds 2322 p 25 - 43 .indd 32 28 / 02 / 2020 19 : 15 : 31