When China picks the right moment to launch a capital markets transaction, the whole world wants to buy it. This time round, the US was not offered that opportunity and the sovereign followed a highly successful strategy last pursued to equal acclaim in 1996, targeting European and Asian investors instead.
Both proved highly receptive to the twin $1 billion and Eu550 million deal, with the former issue closing nearly five times oversubscribed and the latter four times oversubscribed. Following last week's well-publicized mandate scuffle, which led to the appointment of three European banks to run the euro-denominated tranche, it did, however, seem as if there were almost as many lead managers as investors....
