For the second time in a week, HSBC appears to have stolen a march on its competitors with the launch of a $500 million trade for PCCW-HKT. The 10-year deal began marketing after Asia's close Wednesday and is expected to price later today Thursday.
The transaction is being pitched at 240bp to 250bp over Treasuries, which places it roughly flat to slightly inside of the group's outstanding 2011 bond on either an interpolated Treasury or libor basis. At Asia's close, the group's $1 billion 7.75% 2011 bond was being bid around 113.5% to yield 207bp over Treasuries.
While news of the deal is likely to put some pressure on...