Westports’ RM445m sukuk sees overwhelming demand

Westports Malaysia Sdn Bhd’s initial issuance of RM445 million, including the upsized amount of RM100 million, of the RM800 million sukuk musyarakah medium term notes (MTN) programme has been oversubscribed by an average of 6.3 times based on the original size of RM345 million.

In a statement yesterday, OSK Holdings Bhd, which facilitated the transaction, said based on the upsized amount due to the unexpected demand, the sukuk was still oversubscribed by 4.9 times via a book build basis.

OSK also acted as the principal adviser and lead arranger. Due to overwhelming demand, the book building process, which opened on Feb 28 and scheduled to close on March 4, was completed two days earlier on Feb 29.

OSK said the proceeds would be used to refinance Westports’ existing bank borrowings, finance the construction of a new container terminal and acquisition of machineries and equipment.

It said the issue amount and tenures of the MTNs were RM100 million for three years, RM100 million for four years and RM245 million for five years and their respective yields are 4.17%, 4.35% and 4.54% accordingly.

Westports is one of two port operators in Port Klang. Westports was assigned a strong rating of AA+IS by Malaysian Rating Corporation Bhd, supported by its track record of solid performance and strong financial profile.