COUNTRY REPORT MALAYSIAfixed or floating-rate Reg S registered senior
unsecured bond is expected to price in the
near future, subject to market conditions.
The notes are expected to be rated A3 by
Moody’s and be listed on the Luxembourg
Stock Exchange’s Euro MTF Market.
SYNDICATED LOANS
› TOKUYAMA SIGNS ¥60BN HYBRID LOAN
TOKUYAMA signed a ¥60bn (US$540m) 60-year
subordinated loan last Thursday to repay
its hybrid financing ahead of the maturity
date, the Yamaguchi-based chemical
manufacturer said in a statement.
MUFG and Mizuho Bank were the
mandated lead arrangers, while Hiroshima
Bank, Saikyo Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank
and Yamaguchi Bank joined in syndication,
according to a source.
The loan can be repaid after five years.
The interest margin on the loan will step
up by 100bp after five years. The initial
margin is undisclosed.
Funds, to be drawn on September 20,
will refinance a ¥60bn 60-year subordinated
loan Tokuyama completed in March 2014.
MUFG was the arranger of the previous
deal.
Rating & Investment Information and
Japan Credit Rating Agency have assigned
70% and 75% equity treatment respectively
and BBB– ratings to the loan.
› ITOCHU ADVANCE LOGISTICS SIGNS DEBUT
ITOCHU ADVANCE LOGISTICS INVESTMENT signed
a ¥19.3bn debut syndicated loan for real
estate acquisitions last Friday, the same day
it completed its listing on the Tokyo Stock
Exchange.
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp arranged the
bullet loan, which is split into a ¥1.88bn
one-year portion, a ¥5.3bn three-year term
loan, a ¥5.12bn six-year facility, a ¥5.5bn
eight-year piece and a ¥1.5bn 10-year bullet
term loan.
The interest margins on the five tranches
are 15bp, 10bp, 30bp, 40bp and 50bp over
one-month Tibor, respectively.
Itochu Advance Logistics will pay fixed
interest rates on the three, six, eight and
10-year tranches after entering into interest
rate swap agreements.
Development Bank of Japan, MUFG, Mizuho
Bank, Mizuho Trust & Banking and Sumitomo
Mitsui Trust Bank joined in syndication.
Separately, the real estate investment
trust is also raising a ¥2.69bn one-year
bullet term loan with a margin of 15bp
over one-month Tibor from SMBC as a
bilateral.
Drawdown of the syndicated facilities
took place on September 7.
Itochu Advance Logistics invests
primarily in logistics facilities in Kanto and
Kansai areas.› JOGMEC SIGNS ZERO-INTEREST FACILITYJAPAN OIL GAS & METALS NATIONAL CORP last
Thursday priced a ¥20.971bn one-year
bullet term loan at a zero-interest rate
after heavy oversubscription of up to
¥212.3bn, the state-backed company said in
a statement.
Various lenders including regional banks
joined in syndication.
The interest rate on the government-
guaranteed loan was determined through
conventional auctions. Mizuho Bank is the
agent.
The drawdown is slated for September- Proceeds are for operating funds.
JOGMEC is a frequent visitor to the
syndicated loan market. It last raised a
¥30.992bn one-year term loan in July at a
zero interest rate. That facility met with
heavy oversubscription of up to ¥265.7bn.
MACAU
EQUITY CAPITAL MARKETS
› STUDIO CITY FILES FOR IPOSTUDIO CITY INTERNATIONAL, the Macau gaming
resort of Lawrence Ho’s Melco Resorts &
Entertainment, has filed a US$115m NYSE
IPO with the US Securities and Exchange
Commission.
Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Morgan
Stanley are leading the transaction.
Nasdaq-listed Melco Resorts announced
in August 2017 that Studio City had filed
confidentially for a US IPO.
Studio City posted a net loss of US$14.8m
for the first half of 2018, compared to a
US$47.0m net loss for the first half of 2017.
The company lost US$76.4m in 2017.
Studio City, which operates an
entertainment, retail and gaming resort at
Cotai in Macau, is a 60%-owned subsidiary
of Melco Resorts, which, in turn, is a 51.2%-
owned unit of Hong Kong-listed Melco
International Development.
New Cotai, a US joint venture of Silver
Point and Oaktree Capital, controls the
remaining 40% of Studio City.
Separately, Melco International
announced that its subsidiary MELCO RESORTS
AND ENTERTAINMENT (PHILIPPINES) will delist
from the Philippine Stock Exchange. The
majority shareholder of Melco Resorts andEntertainment (Philippines) will buy back the
shares from public investors in a tender offer.MALAYSIA
DEBT CAPITAL MARKETS
› BANK ISLAM SETS UP PROGRAMMEBANK ISLAM MALAYSIA has established a M$10bn
(US$2.44bn) senior and subordinated
Islamic bond programme under the
murabahah concept.
The programme was filed with the
Securities Commission Malaysia via
arranger Bank Islam.
Senior bonds will be rated AA3 and
subordinated notes, which will qualify as
Basel III-compliant Tier 2 capital, are rated
A1 by RAM.
The bank is owned by government-linked
pilgrims fund agency Lembaga Tabung Haji.
It has a common equity Tier 1 ratio of 12.6%
and a total capital ratio of 16.5%.SYNDICATED LOANS
› RAPID SEEKS SPEEDY COMMITMENTSMalaysia’s REFINERY AND PETROCHEMICAL
INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT project is seeking
commitments from banks for a US$9.7bn
15-year loan.
Banks were required to respond
by the end of last week with revised
proposals mainly around pricing after
having responded to an initial request for
proposals.
The new borrowing comprises three
tranches: an export credit agency facility,
an ECA-covered portion and an uncovered
commercial piece of around US$3.08bn.
ECAs from Japan, South Korean and
Europe are expected to be involved.
The uncovered commercial tranche
will carry different interest margins tied
to the completion of the project. The
pre-completion period is expected to be
two years during which the sponsors –
Malaysian oil and gas giant Petroliam
Nasional Bhd and Saudi Arabian Oil Co
(Aramco) – will provide guarantees and the
all-in pricing is likely to be around 80bp
over Libor.
After the project attains completion, the
guarantees fall away and the pricing will
increase to around 150bp.
By comparison, a US$8bn 364-day bridge
RAPID completed in March paid a similar
all-in based on an initial razor-thin interest