One of Malaysia's best-regarded private sector companies IOI Corp secured a new fan base yesterday when it stormed into the international bond markets. The company priced its inaugural, upsized $500 million 10-year dollar bond at 103bp over treasuries, having amassed $3.5 billion in orders.
The huge success of the A3BBB rated transaction can be explained by the rarity value of Malaysian corporate credits as well as the tightening trend of the market in the past week after benign US payroll numbers. Despite this, the issuer and lead managers Barclays Capital and Citigroup should be praised for their timing and handling of a deal that had the potential for trouble.
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