Khazanah Nasional last night returned to the equity-linked market with a $358 million exchangeable Islamic bond, which was aggressively priced and confirmed that there is indeed huge investor appetite for deals backed by strong credits. The bonds are exchangeable into Hong Kong-listed Parkson Retail Group and are backed by Khazanah’s remaining 220 million shares in the company one of the largest nationwide department store operators in China.
The deal attracted more than $1.5 billion of demand and well over 100 investors. It was also priced at best terms for the issuer, including a slight negative yield. This meant it pushed the envelope a bit further than triple-A rated Temasek,...