Hutch's second coming

The A3/A rated credit has repeated its trick of blazing a trail for itself with a mammoth offering that creates one of the most liquid benchmarks in the Asian credit markets. The group's $1.5 billion 10-year transaction marks the largest single tranche issue from a corporate in the region and also now ranks equal second with the Federation of Malaysia as the region's single largest behind the Republic of Korea's $3 billion line due 2008.

Ever keen that any of its deals be viewed as an unequivocal success, Hutchison also made a strategic decision to abandon plans for a 30-year tranche after investors failed to deliver the pricing levels it wanted and the overall market for longer-dated paper deteriorated slightly after roadshows got underway. What it did achieve via its three bookrunners - Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Merrill Lynch - was to price flat to outstanding paper on a like-for-like basis and dispense with the need for a new issue premium.