Frasers Centrepoint sells S$700m perpetual bond issue

NOT only is Frasers Centrepoint's perpetual bond issue the first perpetual deal for 2015, it is a whopper at S$700 million.

On Monday, Frasers Centrepoint sold S$700 million of perpetual bonds NC5 5 per cent, the biggest non-bank perpetual deal since 2012. NC 5 means that the bonds will not be called or redeemed before the fifth year.

This was the firm's second perpetual issue. Last September, it sold S$600 million perpetuals at 4.88 per cent; and it was also the biggest such sale in 2014.

The biggest non-bank perp ever sold was Genting's S$1.8 billion 5.125 per cent issue in March 2012.

Orders for Frasers Centrepoint's Monday deal came to over S$1.5 billion.

"The outcome is so strong here because of the credit strength of the issuer, the backing of a strong shareholder and the fact that this is a repeat issuer," said Clifford Lee, DBS Bank head of fixed income.

"The market is also presently hungry for yield so this issue fits them very well," said Mr Lee.

The controlling shareholder TCC Prosperity Limited took more than 40 per cent of the deal while private bank clients accounted for 45 per cent. Fund managers and banks got 10 per cent.

The global coordinators of the deal are DBS Bank and Maybank Kim Eng. Bookrunners are DBS Bank, Maybank Kim Eng, ANZ, Deutsche Bank, OCBC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and United Overseas Bank.