KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 14 (Bernama) — CIMB Bank Berhad (”CIMB Bank”) has successfully priced its USD500 million RegS/144A Sustainable Development Goals Bond (“SDG Bond”) on 13 January 2022, marking the first ever RegS/144A SDG Bond to be issued by a Malaysian bank in the international capital markets. This USD SDG bond also marked the first ever 144A bond offering into the US markets by a Malaysian bank. The SDG bond complies with CIMB Group’s updated SDG Bond & Sukuk Framework, which is aligned with the latest market standards including the Green Bond Principles, Social Bond Principles and Sustainability Bond Guidelines issued by the International Capital Market Association, and was assessed as credible and impactful by second party opinion provider, Sustainalytics.
The RegS/144A SDG Bond was well received, reflecting the accelerating global shift towards sustainable investing among a diverse investor base. Banks took up 34% of the bond while 43% was subscribed by fund managers, followed by 22% by securities firms and the remaining 1% subscribed by corporates. The SDG Bond – a 5.5-year fixed rate note priced at a spread of 70 basis points above the 5-year US treasury, with a yield of 2.189%, will be issued on 20 January 2022 under CIMB Bank’s existing USD5 Billion Global Medium Term Note Programme. Approval- in-principle has been received from the SGX-ST for the listing and quotation of the Notes on the official list of the SGX-ST, and an application will be made to list the SDG Bond on Bursa Malaysia (under the Exempt Regime).
