Hong Kong airport targets raising US$4b in bond deal: sources

[HONG KONG] Hong Kong's Airport Authority is aiming to raise up to US$4 billion in a multi-tranche dollar bond offering, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity as the information has not yet been made public.

The authority has mandated 22 banks to work on the deal, a term sheet seen by Reuters on Monday showed.

Hong Kong's airport authority, which operates the city's main airport, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Raising up to US$4 billion will be a major test of investor sentiment towards the airport which has been hit by an increasing number of flight bans ordered by the Hong Kong government as part of its pandemic restrictions.

Calls with Asian, European and US investors to judge demand for a deal will start Tuesday, according to the term sheet.

One of the proposed tranches will be a 5-year green bond, the term sheet said, which will be issued under the authority's recently established Sustainable Finance Framework.

The authority last year reported a HK$4.4 billion (S$762.1 million) loss for the 2020-2021 financial year.

REUTERS