SMRT to pay off part of debt from asset sale cash

Singapore

SMRT Corp does not intend to use the estimated S$991 million from the asset sale to the government to pay any special dividend to shareholders but will instead pay off part of its debt.

In a statement on the transition to the New Rail Financing Framework (NRFF), the rail operator said the group's total debt level is expected to be at S$762 million on Sept 30 this year. The NRFF licence starts from Oct 1. It said: "To be prudent, the company intends to use part of the net proceeds from the Proposed Sale to retire some of its existing debt."