SINGAPORE (June 30): Fullerton Healthcare Corporation announced Thursday that it has launched its $100 million bond offering, which has been assigned a “AA” rating by S&P.

CIMB and OCBC have been mandated to lead manage Fullerton Health’s maiden bond issuance, which consists of two tranches: a five-year $50 million tranche due 2021 and a seven-year $50 million tranche due 2023.

Fullerton Health said both tranches are being backed by Credit Guarantee and Investment Facility (CGIF), a trust fund of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The issue will be the fifth SGD-denominated bonds wrapped by CGIF.

The five-year tranche is being priced at a coupon rate of 2.45% while the seven-year tranche is being priced at a coupon rate of 2.75%. Both tranches were issued at an average premium of 78 basis points over the prevailing Swap Offer Rate (SOR).

“The funds would be harnessed to strengthen our financial position and pare down existing short-term debt with various banks and to reduce our reliance on bank borrowings going forward,” says Dr Ramesh Rajentheran, Fullerton Health’s CFO.

“Corporate healthcare market has been on an uptrend especially in the Asia Pacific region and our Group is well-poised to ride on the surge,” he adds. “The credit guarantee provided by CGIF is a strong testament to our Group’s ongoing capabilities and profitability going forward.”

Fullerton Health said it is the first issuer in the healthcare sector that is tapping the SGD bond market with the support of CGIF’s credit guarantee.

(See also Fullerton Health on track for mid-year IPO)