SIA's $500m bond issue snapped up

[SINGAPORE] Singapore Airlines yesterday tapped the debt market with a bumper $500 million issue, the biggest non-financial corporate deal so far this year as bonds continue to rally.

The Markit iBoxx SGD corporate total return index touched another high this week, though yesterday it eased to 106.6109 from Monday's 106.6136. Year to date, the index is up 1.5 per cent.

SIA's $500 million bonds were sold in two tranches - $200 million of seven-year bonds at 3.145 per cent and $300 million of 10-year bonds at 3.75 per cent.

The sale is part of its $2 billion multi-currency medium-term note programme launched last month. DBS Bank was the sole bookrunner.

The bonds were mainly sold in a few hours in the morning, said Clifford Lee, DBS Bank head of fixed income. "We went out with point pricing, no range because we were confident it could …