International investors placed close to $6 billion of orders yesterday for a debut bond offering by the Philippines' state-owned Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp Psalm -- six times the amount of paper on offer.
The strong demand was driven by a recent spike in optimism in the credit markets and by Psalm's government guarantee, which combined to allow the company to print the 10-year bonds at the tight end of its price guidance. The final price was fixed early yesterday morning Hong Kong time and represented a yield of 7.375%, or 412.3bp over 10-year Treasuries.
The lack of issuance in the market, in spite of the improved sentiment, also helped Psalm...