Washington, D.C., October 17, 2016—
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, issued bonds in the amount of 100 million Singapore dollars—equivalent to about $73 million—as part of its strategy to proactively seize opportunities in Asian markets through its new Singapore treasury hub. The issuance reaffirms IFC's commitment to bringing quality and diversity to the country's capital markets, offering domestic investors a high credit investment alternative.
The bond is IFC's first issuance in the currency in seven years. Issued as a private placement under IFC’s global medium term note program, the two-year bonds carry a coupon of 1.025 percent per annum. DBS Bank Ltd. is the sole manager for the bonds.
Since January, IFC has raised $3.5 billion through a record volume of private placements and structured notes targeting Asian investors. Building on investor demand, IFC will establish a Singaporean dollar-denominated discount note program and a program aimed at retail investors in Singapore.
“IFC has been a long-standing supporter to Singapore capital markets,” said Clifford Lee, Managing Director and Head of Fixed Income at DBS Bank Ltd. “We welcome the opportunity to work with IFC to bring innovation, depth and diversity to the market.”
“Asian investors have strong demand for high quality assets that offer competitive risk and return ratios,” said Jingdong Hua, IFC Vice President and Treasurer. “With a full-fledged IFC treasury hub in Singapore, we are well positioned to serve our clients in the region and deliver innovations that respond to their needs, while unlocking additional financing for global development challenges such as infrastructure.”
Earlier this month, IFC launched a new platform that enables institutional investors to invest with IFC in a portfolio of infrastructure projects in emerging markets. The platform, called MCPP Infrastructure, aims to raise up to $5 billion in five years. The first partnership under the program was signed with the global insurance company Allianz for a commitment of $500 million. IFC is also in advanced discussions with Eastspring Investments, the Asian asset management business of Prudential, for a commitment of $500 million. Similar discussions are being conducted with AXA, also for a commitment of $500 million.
In 1998, IFC became the first major foreign issuer in the country's domestic markets with a groundbreaking 300 million Singaporean dollar-denominated issuance. IFC's overall issuance in the currency totals 700 million Singaporean dollars.
IFC has three global treasury hubs—Washington, D.C., London, and Singapore—to support its operations and serve clients across the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia. Consistent with IFC’s practice, the proceeds of this issue will be swapped into floating-rate U.S. dollar funds that will be available for IFC investments in emerging markets.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. Working with 2,000 businesses worldwide, we use our six decades of experience to create opportunity where it’s needed most. In FY16, our long-term investments in developing countries rose to nearly $19 billion, leveraging our capital, expertise and influence to help the private sector end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
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