Bank of China in US$3.55 billion multi-currency landmark deal, includes S$500 million tranche

BANK of China (BOC) has priced a US$3.55 billion multi-currency, multi-location landmark transaction.

Dubbed the Silk Road bond in honour of China's One Belt, One Road initiative, the deal involved four currencies (US dollar, euro, Singapore dollar and yuan) issued from four BOC branches (Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, Hungary, Singapore) simultaneously, said DBS Bank on Thursday.

The deal attracted a total order book size of over US$13 billion.

Its US dollar, yuan and Singapore dollar bonds have traded up in the secondary markets in Asia on Thursday, the bank said.

The S$500 million tranche was the first issue of Singapore dollar bonds by BOC, and the largest issue of senior bonds by a commercial bank in the Singapore dollar bond market.

BOC, Barclays, Citi, DBS Bank and HSBC were joint global co-ordinators, lead managers and book runners.

China's One Belt, One Road initiative aims to create a modern trade route known as the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. Projects under the plan include a network of railways, highways, oil and gas pipelines, power grids, Internet networks, maritime and other infrastructure links across central, west and south Asia to as far as Greece, Russia and Oman, increasing China's connections to Europe and Africa.