ADB sells $4-billion global bonds

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said yesterday that the Manila-based multilateral institution returned to the US dollar bond market to raise funds for its capital resources.

In a statement, ADB said the bank sold $4 billion worth of three-year global dollar bond, with a coupon rate of 0.25 percent per annum payable semiannually.

“We are very appreciative of the consistently solid investor support that ADB receives in its US dollar bond outings. This trade is no exception," ADB Treasurer Pierre Van Peteghem said.

"The transaction was well oversubscribed, which enabled us to finetune pricing and still print one of our largest 3-year USD issue sizes at $4 billion. This gives us the resources to continue to provide much needed assistance to the Asia and Pacific region, particularly during this pandemic,” the treasurer added.

The bond, maturing on July 14, 2023, was priced at 99.833 percent to yield 12 basis points over the 0.25 percent US Treasury notes due June 2023.

The transaction was leadmanaged by Bank of Montreal, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley. A syndicate group was also formed consisting of ANZ, Credit Agricole CIB, Daiwa, ING, Mizuho, and Natwest.

"The issue achieved wide primary market distribution with 43 percent of the bonds placed in Asia; 23 percent in Europe, Middle East, and Africa; and 34 percent in the Americas," ADB said.

"By investor type, 62 percent of the bonds went to central banks and official institutions, 25 percent to banks, and 13 percent to fund managers and other types of investors," it added.

For 2020, ADB plans to raise around $30 billion to $35 billion from the capital markets. (Chino S. Leyco)