UMC and Wharf raise $1.3 billion from CBs

After three weeks with no major deals, the convertible bond market in Asia sprung back to life last night with two transactions that could not have been more different from one another.

First to launch was United Microelectronics Corp with a $500 million five-put-three deal that had a zero coupon and a negative yield. The well-flagged deal was also linked to the new Taiwan dollar, but settled in US dollars. By comparison, the second deal was simplicity personified an $800 million equivalent three-year bullet deal with no issuer call that was denominated in Hong Kong dollars and offered a small cash coupon. However, it did come with a massive 65%...