The three-year senior unsecured fixed-rate sustainable-development bonds pay an annual coupon of 3.847 per cent, and will settle locally in Hong Kong’s Central Moneymarkets Unit (CMU), which tracks and manages Hong Kong-dollar debt securities and other financial products.
The bonds are the first Hong Kong dollar public bonds priced at a spread to the Hong Kong interbank offered rate – the interest rate at which banks in the city lend to one another – mid swap. They received orders of more than HK$10 billion at the peak, drawing diverse investors including central banks, bank treasuries, asset managers and local companies, according to Standard Chartered, joint lead manager on the deal.
“The depth and sophistication of the Hong Kong dollar market make it an attractive environment for issuers like AIIB,” said Darren Stipe, the bank’s head of funding.
By undertaking a public transaction settled in the CMU, the bank could reach a broader investor base while improving Hong Kong dollar liquidity, Stipe said, adding that the transaction drew 15 new investors.
