‘STRONG GLOBAL APPETITE FOR MALAYSIAN BONDS’
Citi has helped raise more than US$3b this year from international debt capital markets for Malaysian firms
GLOBAL investors’ appetite for Malaysia’s bonds, as seen in the recent buy-in of Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd’s US$400 million (RM1.69 billion) non-investment grade bond, spells bright future for the sector.
Citi Malaysia, a joint book runner in Press Metal’s bonds, noted that the strong global investors’ response had led to a final order book of more than US$3.8 billion.
“The large foreign investor interest in this issuance out of Malaysia reflects the amount of liquidity and the strong demand for Malaysian credit from global investors.
“The transaction underlined the potential for more Malaysian companies to raise cost-effective financing from international capital markets,” said Citi Malaysia chief executive officer Lee Lung Nien in a statement yesterday.
He highlighted that the final pricing of Press Metal’s bonds were 45 basis points lower than the initial price guidance of 5.25 per cent.
The allocation was spread out to a diverse group of investors, comprising asset management companies and financial institution across Asia and Europe, with participation from 240 accounts.
On the back of this transaction, Citi has helped raise more than US$3 billion so far this year from international debt capital markets for Malaysian companies and is the leading underwriter for international bond issuances from Malaysia this year.
Lee said Citi played to its strengths in leveraging its global network and local capabilities to help distribute international Malaysian bonds and offered clients’ advisory and value-creating propositions that clearly demonstrated Citi’s ability to exceed client expectations even in a volatile market environment.
“The growth we see in Malaysia augurs well for the future. Citi has over five decades built a strong franchise through reliable and trusted partnerships for our clients,” he added.
“We are confident we will see further issuance from the country.”
Malaysia is among Citi’s largest markets in Southeast Asia.
Revenues in Asia were up by close to US$200 million, or six per cent year-on-year, to US$3.6 billion and up four per cent quarter-on-quarter. Net income grew 12 per cent and pre-tax profits added 4 per cent to US$1.45 billion year-on-year.