Swiber Holdings has raised 450 million renminbi (US$73.4 million) from a sale of offshore renminbi bonds out of Singapore. The offering is the first so-called "Lion City" bond issued by a non-bank Singapore corporation.

The three-year unrated bonds were priced at par and offer a coupon and yield of 7.5%.

"This latest issuance has further broadened Swiber's funding options in the debt capital markets beyond its well-supported SGD bond issuances, thereby enhancing its financial flexibility to fund its future growth," says Clifford Lee, head of fixed income at DBS Bank, which acted as joint boorkunner on the deal along with ANZ, HSBC and ICBC Singapore.

Swiber will be entering into a cross-currency swap to convert the offshore renminbi into US dollar which is their natural funding currency. The company plans to use the proceeds for debt refinancing and working capital requirements, particularly for new projects and expansion in new markets such as Africa.

The bonds will be issued off an existing S$1 billion (US$791.29 million) multi-currency debt issuance programme.

This deal has helped Swiber diversify its investor base to include a larger proportion of Hong Kong-based investors. About 33% of the bonds were bought by Hong Kong-based accounts, with Singapore taking the majority at 65% and Taiwan investors taking 2%

By investor type, private banks were allocated 46% of the deal, while banks, fund managers and others accounted for 54%.