KUALA LUMPUR: Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) has launched a US$300 million secured exchangeable sukuk in line with its ongoing commitment to enhance portfolio resilience and deliver sustainable, long-term returns for its unitholders.
PNB said in a statement that the sukuk was launched via a Labuan incorporated special purpose vehicle, Lunas Capital II Ltd, while Lunas Capital I Ltd, a Labuan incorporated special purpose vehicle, is the obligor.
"The exchangeable sukuk is a strategic initiative designed to strengthen portfolio diversification through the raising of foreign currency proceeds to invest in global assets, particularly in global sukuk," said the fund management company.
PNB said the offering will be exchangeable into ordinary shares of Gamuda Bhd
, an engineering, property and infrastructure company with operations across Asia, Australia and the United Kingdom.
Proceeds from the offering will be earmarked for investments in investment-grade US dollar-denominated global sukuk assets, it said.
The proposed issuance of the exchangeable sukuk, with the intended deployment of the proceeds into shariah-compliant US dollar-denominated global sukuk assets, demonstrates PNB’s commitment to shariah-compliant investment practices.
Meanwhile, PNB president and group chief executive Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad said the offering of the exchangeable sukuk allows the company to leverage the value of its domestic equity holdings, mitigate foreign exchange risk, and deliver greater diversification in line with PNB's strategic asset allocation under its LEAP 6 Strategic Plan.
The exchangeable sukuk has a tenor of five years, featuring an investor put option exercisable at the end of year three.
The credit quality of the exchangeable sukuk is enhanced by security provided by Lunas Capital I. in favour of holders of the exchangeable sukuk, comprising the underlying shares and the US dollar-denominated global sukuk assets.
The strong credit quality, complemented by the solid fundamentals of the underlying shares enabled the exchangeable sukuk to be offered with an attractive profit rate and yield of zero per cent, and an appealing exchange premium of 10 per cent.
The offering is expected to broaden the landscape of Malaysian globally traded exchangeable instruments and support the growth and liquidity of domestic capital markets.
CIMB and JP Morgan are the joint bookrunners and joint lead managers for the transaction. - Bernama
