COUNTRY REPORT CHINAon the offering with China Construction
Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of
China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of
Communications, Bank of China and China
Merchants Bank as joint lead underwriters.
› GLP PLANS PANDA BOND RETURN
GLOBAL LOGISTIC PROPERTIES plans to raise
Rmb2.4bn from an offering of five-year
Panda bonds in China’s interbank bond
market.
It will be GLP’s second issue under
its Rmb10bn Panda bond programme
approved by the National Association of
Financial Market Institutional Investors.
The bonds will be issued in the name
of GLP subsidiary Iowa China Offshore
Holdings (Hong Kong).
The proceeds are intended for loan
repayment and for warehouse projects.
The notes and the issuer have AAA
ratings from both China Chengxin and
Shanghai Brilliance Credit Rating.
China Merchants Bank is sole lead on the
issue.
GLP, the biggest warehouse operator in
Asia, printed in October 2017 Rmb1bn five-
year notes in the interbank bond market at
par to yield 4.99%.
Last month, it raised Rmb1.2bn from
Belt and Road Panda bonds on the
Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The nine-year
notes, which give investors rights for a
sell-back at the end of years three and six,
were priced at par to yield 5.65%.
SYNDICATED LOANS
› STRONG RESPONSE FOR GEELY
ZHEJIANG GEELY HOLDING GROUP’s €3.05bn
loan backing its purchase of a stake in
Swedish truckmaker AB Volvo has been
oversubscribed, following commitments
from a handful of banks.
A mix of Chinese and international banks
joined during the early-bird phase. A few
more lenders are processing approvals to
commit in senior syndication, which is still
ongoing.
Mandated lead arrangers, bookrunners
and underwriters BNP Paribas and China
Citic Bank launched the loan in mid-
February.
Proceeds fund Geely’s acquisition of an
8.2% stake in AB Volvo.
The facility is split into a €2.1bn five-
year term loan and a €950m 12-month
bridge, borrowed via two separate special-
purpose vehicles, and paying top-level all-in
pricing of 185bp and 130bp over Euribor,
respectively.
Both tranches come with guarantees
from Geely Sweden Holdings, which also
owns Volvo Cars.
The acquisition is still awaiting Chinese
regulatory approval.
Geely founder, controlling shareholder
and chairman Li Shufu revealed on
February 24 – only a couple of months
after agreeing to buy the stake in AB
Volvo in December – that he had built up
a stake of around 9.7% in German rival
Daimler, the maker of Mercedes cars and
trucks.
The Daimler stake cost US$9bn,
according to Reuters, while the AB
Volvo purchase was for around €3.25bn,
according to Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter.
These acquisitions are Geely’s largest since
it bought Volvo Cars eight years ago.
Zhejiang Geely has no international
ratings, but Hong Kong-listed unit Geely
Automobile Holdings is a BBB– credit to
S&P.› MEIHUA EYES DEBUT OFFSHORE LOANMEIHUA HOLDINGS GROUP is seeking a three-
year transferable term financing of
US$200m on its debut in the offshore
loan market.
Standard Chartered is mandated lead
arranger and bookrunner on the loan,
paying an interest margin of 170bp over
Libor for a 2.7-year average life.
Banks can join as MLAs with US$30m or
more for a top-level all-in pricing of 210bp,
via a management fee of 108bp, or as lead
arrangers with US$20m–$29m for an all-in
of 205bp, via a 94.5bp fee, or as arrangers
with US$10m–$19m for an all-in of 200bp,
via a 81bp fee.
The borrowers are Meihua Holdings and
Hong Kong-based fully owned unit Meihua
Group International Trading (HK).
Established in 2002, Shanghai-listed
Meihua Holdings makes biological
fermented products. It provides animal
nutritional amino acids, human medical
amino acids and food taste optimisation
products.› GCL HIRES FOR THREE-YEAR LOANHong Kong-listed GCL NEW ENERGY HOLDINGS
has mandated Credit Suisse to arrange a
US$150m three-year term loan.
The amortising facility, to be launched
soon, comes nearly two months after the
Chinese solar-power company, rated Ba2/
BB– (Moody’s/S&P), sold US$500m of three-
year Reg S bonds priced at 7.1% in late
January.
Proceeds from the bonds were used
for developing business, repaying debt,
including a Credit Suisse term loan, as well
as meeting other general corporate needs.› COAM UNIT SEEKS TERM LOANDONG YIN DEVELOPMENT (HOLDINGS), a fully owned
unit of China Orient Asset Management
(International) Holding, has launched a
US$100m three-year term loan.
Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank is the
mandated arranger and bookrunner on the
loan, which offers an interest margin of
215bp over Libor and has an average life of
2.75 years.
Lead arrangers joining with US$15m
or more will receive an all-in pricing of
230bp over Libor, via a 40bp management
fee, while arrangers with US$10m–$14m
will get an all-in of 224bp, via a 25bp fee.
Commitments are due on April 9.
Funds are for general corporate purposes.
Last May, the parent company raised a
US$600m three-year loan. Taipei Fubon
also led that loan, which offered a top-
level all-in of 175bp over Libor, based on
an interest margin of 139bp and a blended
average life of 2.875 years.
COAM (International), rated BBB+/A–
(S&P/Fitch), is a wholly owned subsidiary
of state-owned China Orient Asset
Management.› FEH LIFTS OFFSHORE LOAN SIZEFinancial services company FAR EAST HORIZON
has increased its three-year bullet loan to
US$1.12bn-equivalent from a US$800m
target.
China Construction Bank (Asia), E Sun
Commercial Bank, Hong Kong branch, Fubon
Financial Holding, ICBC (Asia), MUFG, Taishin
International Bank, Westpac and Wing Lung
Bank are mandated lead arrangers and
bookrunners on the financing, split into
US$875m and HK$1.95bn (US$249m) pieces.
Lead arrangers were offered a top-level
all-in pricing of 155bp, based on an interest
margin of 130bp over Libor or Hibor and a
75bp fee.
FEH subsidiary International Far Eastern
Leasing is providing a letter of comfort.
Funds are for working capital and
refinancing. Signing is slated for late March.
FEH is also in the onshore market for
a Rmb1.2bn three-year term loan. First
Commercial Bank, Korean Development Bank,
OCBC Wing Hang Bank and SMBC are MLABs
of the loan, which offers a margin of 105%
of the PBoC rate and has a 2.7-year average
life. MLAs with Rmb300m or more receive
an all-in of 112.8% of the PBoC rate through
a 100bp participation fee.
Last November, FEH completed a
US$800m-equivalent three-year bullet term
loan. ANZ, CTBC Bank, DBS Bank, Nanyang
Commercial Bank and UOB were MLABs on
that loan, which paid a top-level all-in of
158.33bp, based on an interest margin of