COUNTRY REPORT SOUTH KOREAUS$448m. The REIT comprises 11 US-based
office assets.
Manulife US REIT, which raised US$470m
from an SGX IPO in 2016, is the first REIT
in Singapore containing purely US assets.
SOUTH KOREA
DEBT CAPITAL MARKETS
› KEB HANA MAKES SWISSIE MARK
KEB HANA BANK (A1/A+/A–) became the first
commercial (non-state) Korean bank to
issue in the Swiss franc market.
Last Thursday it named Commerzbank
and UBS as leads for a minimum SFr100m
(US$101m) five year senior unsecured bond
due Sep 14 2023.
Initial price thoughts started at mid-
swaps plus 55bp area, pricing SFr100m in
line with guidance, with a 0.4075% coupon.
The level put it around 15bp wide of KEB
Hana’s recent dollar formosa floater, but
30bp inside its “normal” 4.625% 2023 US
dollar bond.
› KDB LINES UP SAMURAI
KOREA DEVELOPMENT BANK has mandated Bank
of America Merrill Lynch , Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan
Stanley Securities and Mizuho as joint lead
managers for a Samurai offering.
Marketing is expected to start Thursday.
State-run KDB’s bond comes after a slew
of Korean yen deals from Export-Import
Bank of Korea, KT and Hyundai Capital
Services took advantage of improved
geopolitical tensions, following US
President Donald Trump’s meeting with
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June.
KDB’s last Samurai came in October
2014 via a ¥34.9bn (US$327m) two-tranche
offering.TAIWAN
SYNDICATED LOANS
› PAIHO SHIH RETURNS WITH US$120M LOANPAIHO SHIH HOLDINGS is returning to the loan
market for a US$120m five-year loan after
an absence of more than a year.
KGI Bank is the mandated lead arranger
and bookrunner of the deal, which is
equally split into a US$60m term loan
tranche A and a US$60m revolving credit
tranche B.
The deal pays an interest margin of
128bp over Libor. The borrower will pay
any excess interest rate beyond a 35bp
difference between Libor and TAIFX.
Banks are being invited to join as MLABswith commitments of US$30m or more for
an upfront fee of 12bp, as co-arrangers with
US$20m–$29m tickets for a 10bp fee, or as
participants with US$10m–$19m for a 5bp
fee. The response deadline is September 7.
Funds are to refinance the US$60m
five-year loan that the borrower raised in
December 2016 and for working capital
purposes.
CTBC Bank, KGI Bank, Bank Sinopac and
Bank of East Asia were the MLABs on the
2016 deal, which offered an interest margin
of 160bp over Libor. The borrower would
pay any excess interest rate beyond a 35bp
difference between Libor and TAIFX.
Established in 2006, the Taiwan-listed
borrower makes fasteners, ribbons and
laces, as well as other accessories for
garments, footwear and medical and
sporting goods.› KING YUAN BACK FOR NT$12BN LOANKING YUAN ELECTRONICS is returning to the loan
market for a NT$12bn (US$389m) five-year
loan after an absence of more than 2-1/2
years.
Mega International Commercial Bank is the
mandated lead arranger and bookrunner of
the transaction, which comes with a three-
year extension option.
The deal comprises a NT$4.8bn term loan
tranche A, a NT$7.2bn term loan tranche B
and a NT$4.8bn guarantee tranche C. The
three tranches cannot exceed a combined
NT$12bn.Wilmar jumps onto ESG bandwagon
Loans Agribusiness company follows in Olam’s footstepsAgribusiness group WILMAR INTERNATIONAL
has signed a US$100m sustainability-linked
revolving credit facility with DBS Bank.
The interest rate of the two-year revolver
will be pegged to a series of environmental,
social and governance performance metrics.
These include indicators covering issues
ranging from biodiversity, greenhouse gas
reduction and renewable energy to ESG
governance, according to Sustainalytics, a
provider of ESG research and ratings.
“Responsible financing is part of Wilmar’s
holistic approach towards building a
sustainable business,” said Wilmar CFO Kiam
Hong Ho in an August 10 press release. “We
are continuously seeking ways to improve our
sustainability performance and we believe
that forming partnerships with the like-
minded will make a larger impact.”
The loan is the second sustainability-linked borrowing from Singapore in recent
months. In April agribusiness company
Olam International raised a three-year
sustainability-linked revolving credit
facility of US$500m, the first loan in Asia
to tie the interest margin to the borrower’s
performance on ESG metrics.
Olam will be tested on the ESG metrics
annually, and, if the pre-set improvement
targets are achieved, the interest rate on
the facility will be reduced. That means it
will have two opportunities during the life
of the three-year loan to reduce its interest
margin.
Wilmar most recently raised a US$1.8bn
syndicated dual-tranche loan to refinance a
US$1.7bn five-year portion of a US$2.1bn loan
signed in September 2013.
DBS, HSBC, Mizuho Bank, MUFG Bank,
OCBC Bank, UOB Bank and Westpac BankingCorp were the mandated lead arrangers and
bookrunners of that deal, which attracted
24 other banks in general syndication. The
facility paid a top-level all-in pricing of 103bp
and 118bp based on respective margins of
85bp and 105bp over Libor for the three and
five-year pieces.
Founded in 1991 and headquartered in
Singapore, Wilmar operates in businesses
including oil palm cultivation, oilseed
crushing, edible oils refining, sugar
milling and refining, consumer products
manufacturing, specialty fats, oleochemicals,
biodiesel and fertilisers as well as flour and
rice milling.
It has over 500 plants and an extensive
distribution network covering China, India,
Indonesia and some 50 other countries, and
a workforce of about 90,000 people.
CHIEN MI WONG