China Fishery's rights offering oversubscribed

GLOBAL industrial-fishing company China Fishery Group on Friday announced that the rights issue for new ordinary shares for which subscription ended on Wednesday has been oversubscribed.

A total of 1,383,426,452 rights shares were subscribed for through the exercise of shareholders' pro rata subscription rights, and 380,542,749 rights shares were subscribed by way of subscription for excess rights. This represented a total subscription of 108 per cent of the total number of rights shares offered.

Investors other than China Fishery's parent, Pacific Andes Resources Development (Pard), subscribed for 609,592,462 rights shares, which means that these investors subscribed for 202 per cent of their entitlement.

Due to the high demand for rights shares, Pard and shareholders representing a total of 70.5 per cent in China Fishery subscribed only for their pro rata entitlement to the rights shares (1,154,376,739 new shares), and did not subscribe for any excess rights shares.

Through the rights issue, China Fishery will receive S$283.2 million before deduction of transaction costs. Listing and quotation of the rights shares on Singapore Exchange is expected to commence from 9am on April 30, 2015.

"This equity funding will enable the group to redeem the Copeinca senior notes, and further deliver on its strategy of reducing the group's borrowings, lowering interest expense and substantially improving its net debt to equity ratio. The balance of the proceeds will be used for working capital," the group's managing director, Ng Joo Siang, said.

On Friday, China Fishery closed trading up 3.261 per cent at S$0.19.