Bukit Bintang City Centre Development raising RM770mil loan

PETALING JAYA: Bukit Bintang City Centre Development Sdn Bhd, a project to develop the site of the former Pudu prison, is raising a RM770mil (US$196mil) debut loan, sources said.

CIMB Bank and Maybank are the mandated lead arrangers (MLAs), bookrunners and underwriters of the loan, which is split into two five-year tranches of RM150mil and RM450mil, a RM120mil six-year portion and a RM50mil bank guarantee facility. The average life is 4.9 years.

All tranches pay interest margins of 175 basis points (bp) over the cost of funds for participating lenders.

Banks are invited to join as MLAs with RM200mil or above for upfront fees of 95bp for a top-level all-in pricing of 194.39bp.

Lead arrangers joining with RM100mil to RM199mil earn 80bp for an all-in of 191.33bp.

Arrangers committing RM50mil to RM99mil receive 70bp for an all-in of 189.29bp. Syndication is slated to close in April. Funds go toward developing the Pudu Prison site, which was an old colonial-era jail and comprises 19.4 acres of land in Kuala Lumpur with a total gross build-up area of 6.7 million sq ft and a gross development value of RM8.7bil.

BBCCD will comprise a retail mall, an entertainment hub, five blocks of serviced apartments, a four-star hotel, one strata office and two blocks of serviced apartments, according to its website.

The project supports the government’s focus under the Economic Transformation Programme for Greater Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said last June at a ground-breaking ceremony.

BBCCD is a joint venture between Eco World Development Group Bhd (40%), UDA Holdings Bhd (40%) and the Employees Provident Fund (20%). — Reuters