KUALA LUMPUR: Sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) plans to sell RM2.4 billion worth of Islamic bonds to finance the relocation of defence units from the land marked for government development project Bandar Malaysia.
Bandar Malaysia Sdn Bhd, a unit of 1MDB Real Estate Sdn Bhd, said in a statement to Bank Negara Malaysia yesterday that it would issue one- to 10-year sukuk by private placement to unnamed buyers.
AmInvestment Bank Bhd is advising the sale of the sukuk, which will not be rated by credit rating firms.
The funds raised will be spent on building bases for eight defence units, including the police, air force and an artillery regiment. Army pension fund Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera won a RM2.1 billion contract nearly a year ago to relocate the units from the Bandar Malaysia site in Kuala Lumpur. Bandar Malaysia is a 196ha development.
1MDB’s last Islamic bond sale was in May 2009 when it sold RM5 billion worth of 30-year bonds.
The sovereign wealth fund, chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, is also raising funds to pay off US$6.5 billion (RM21.4 billion) in debt taken to buy power plants and for a joint venture with Abu Dhabi’s Aabar Investments PJS. Last month 1MDB said it plans to list the power plant assets this year in an initial public offering worth around US$2 billion.
The US$6.5 billion debt sale, managed by Goldman Sachs, was the subject of much negative publicity as few details were made public which involved huge fees for the US bank, according to Thomson Reuters publication IFR. — Reuters
This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on February 19, 2014.