KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 29): Maybank Investment Bank Bhd (Maybank IB), the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd (HSBC) and the Bank of China Ltd (BOC) have successfully completed the issuance of CNY1.5 billion of Tiger Emas Bond.

The bond drew a strong orderbook of more than RMB4.6 billion, or an over-subscription rate of 3.1 times over the final issuance size of CNY1.5 billion.

The bonds were priced at a re-offer yield of 3.7% per annum.

Maybank IB, HSBC and BOC were the Joint Lead Managers and Joint Bookrunners for this issuance.

Tiger Emas Bond was issued through Cagamas' newly-established U$2.5 billion (RM7.6 billion) Conventional Multicurrency Medium Term Note Programme (Programme), which gives Cagamas the ability to issue bonds under a host of international currencies.  

Tiger Emas Bond is the largest CNY bond by a Malaysian and Southeast Asian issuer to-date.

It is also the first non-ringgit denominated bond issuance to be settled using Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) Real-time Electronic Transfer of Funds and Securities System (RENTAS), operated and managed by Malaysian Electronic Clearing Corporation Sdn Bhd (MyClear).

In a joint statement today, Maybank IB CEO John Chong said Maybank was committed to deliver the best outcome for its clients and contribute towards the development of debt capital market.

“We are proud to be a partner of Cagamas for its milestone transactions, such as this Tiger Emas Bond. We look forward to working together with them on more ground breaking transactions, both domestically and globally,” he added.

Meanwhile, HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd CEO Mukhtar Hussain hoped this transaction will serve as a catalyst to other foreign currency issuances out of Malaysia, moving forward.

"The bond represents an important landmark deal for the Malaysian and international bond markets, as it was the first non-ringgit issuance to be settled via RENTAS.

"This is a reflection of the confidence of the international investors in MyClear’s ability as a global bond settlement platform," Mokhtar said.

In the first half of 2014 alone, primary issuances in the CNY bond market hit a record of CNY371 billion, close to triple the volume of CNY bonds issued of CNY129 billion for the whole of 2013.

By geographical distribution, Asia collectively made up 91% of the subscription for the Tiger Emas Bond, which comprised Hong Kong (35%), Singapore (29%) and Malaysia (25%), with the remaining from Europe.

By investor type, the issuance was allocated to fund managers (72%), banks (24%), sovereigns (3%) and others comprising private banks and corporates.