CPI Property, QNB Finansbank, China Citic Bank price notes; Quito Airport joins calendar

By Rebecca Melvin

New York, March 1 – The emerging markets debt primary remained active on Friday as spreads were steady. Central and eastern Europe-focused property investments company CPI Property Group priced $350 million of 4¾% four-year senior notes to yield 229 basis points over mid-swaps.

The Regulation S-only offering priced a little belatedly having been on the calendar for pricing last week.

Also new to the market on Friday was Turkey’s QNB Finansbank AS, which priced $750 million of 6 7/8% 5.5-year senior notes to yield 437.45 bps over mid-swaps.

Ankara-based QNB Finansbank is a private commercial bank, which is nearly 100% owned by Qatar National Bank.

And China Citic Bank International Ltd. priced $500 million of 4 5/8% tier 2 subordinated notes due 2029, according to an announcement.

The bonds were priced under the lender’s $3 billion medium term note program.

The deals this past week have offered little to no new issue concession, but most have edged up in secondary dealings nevertheless given light new issuance volumes for the first two months of the year.

Also on Friday, the Latin America region saw its first new deal announcement in two weeks.

Corporacion Quiport has selected banks and scheduled fixed-income investor meetings regarding a planned benchmark-sized offering of dollar notes due 2033, according to a syndicate source on Friday.

The Rule 144A and Regulation S notes are being issued by International Airport Finance, an affiliate of the Quito Airport.

Citigroup and Santander are joint bookrunners of the deal, which is roadshowing through March 6, with meetings in London, New York, Boston and Los Angeles.

The proceeds are earmarked for various uses including debt refinancing, the syndicate source said.

Latin America’s debt primary market has been quiet not due to any fault of its own and should experience a pickup in activity soon, a New York-based syndicate source said.

The lack of issuance is primarily a function of Argentina being closed and other regions slowing as well as the fact that the region has well-functioning local debt markets, the source said.

Brazil’s local market has been very active. But the expectation is that Latin America’s debt capital markets will see a pickup of activity in the coming weeks, the source said.

The appetite for emerging markets debt was expected to remain strong given the perceived shift in the U.S. Federal Reserve rate hike cycle to a go-slow approach at the turn of the new year.

In addition to Quito Airport, Istanbul-based Koc Holding AS is on tap for pricing next week. The Turkish industrial conglomerate announced plans for a new offering of five-year to seven-year dollar-denominated notes of benchmark size.

In addition to Friday’s deals, the week’s new issues included the $500 million 4.311% five-year sukuk of Saudi Arabia’s Almarai Co. and Qatar International Islamic Bank’s $500 million 4.264% five-year sukuk. Emirates Development Bank PJSC priced a large $750 million deal of 3.516% five-year notes and the Republic of Poland priced €2 billion of 10-year and 30-year green bonds, including a €1.5 billion tranche of 1% notes due 2029 and a €500 million tranche of 2% notes due 2049.

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