Temasek issues exhangeable into Standard Chartered

Temasek Holdings yesterday morning raised S$650 million $513 million from the sale of three-year bonds that are exchangeable into shares of London-listed Standard Chartered. The deal came amid continued market volatility and an uncertain outlook for financial sector stocks in particular, but was well received by investors who jumped at the opportunity to get exposure to a AAA credit, ie Temasek. The Singapore investment company owns about 18% of Standard Chartered.

A clear indication of the strong demand was that the exchange premium was fixed at the top of the 22% to 27% range. According to sources, the order book reached S$1.25 billion, or almost twice the size of the...