Debt

As part of the agreement, KKR will acquire $820m of newly issued Samsung SDS convertible bonds; Samsung SDS will spend the money on M&A and improving its AI capabilities.

Laurence Lau was most recently managing director and head of debt capital markets at Bank of China International.

The deal is a milestone for Kazakhstan's integration into global capital markets.

The ECM market performed the strongest in Q1, with Hong Kong leading the way, while Apac (ex Japan) M&A fees fell 47%.

The global commodities giant upsized the offering by $137m due to demand.

As investors show more confidence in China's onshore bond market, Singapore's UOB priced a three-year panda bond at 1.83% on March 18, while Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas also issued panda bonds worth over Rmb5bn this month.

Across four tranches, it the Singapore firm's inaugural Australian issuance and continues the infrastructure platform's fundraising momentum with its largest private placement.

The government bond was priced at a 5.95% yield, tightening from an initial guidance of around 6.3%.

Issuances for offshore Rmb bonds now exceed Rmb1 trillion -- transitioning from a policy ambition to a commercial solution in less than two decades. Christopher Chu examines the trend, which started in 2007, as part of FA’s 30th anniversary coverage.