Container terminal operator Hutchison Port Holdings Trust (HPHT) has unveiled plans for its second $500m bond issuance in 2021.
The Singapore-listed company said in a regulatory filing that the latest notes would have a tenure of five years and carry a coupon of 1.5%.
Merrill Lynch, DBS Bank, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank have been appointed as the joint bookrunners and the joint lead managers for the bond issue.
HPH Trust, which operates port assets in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, said the proceeds from this latest fundraiser would go towards refinancing existing bank debt.
Moody’s Investors Service has assigned a Baa1 rating to the bond issue, which was issued by HPH Trust subsidiary HPHT Finance (21) Ltd.
“The Baa1 senior unsecured rating reflects the irrevocable and unconditional guarantee from HPH Trust,” said Moody’s senior analyst Ralph Ng.
“The proposed issuance will not incrementally increase HPH Trust’s total debt as the proceeds will primarily be used to refinance its existing debt.”
Moody’s said HPH Trust’s Baa1 issuer rating is underpinned by its strong market position in China’s Pearl River Delta region and in an industry with high barriers to entry.
The rating agency also highlighted its “prudent cost control and debt-management policies” as well as its ownership of “quality port assets” and its backing of Hong Kong-listed CK Hutchison Holdings.
HPH Trust successfully tapped fixed-income investors with a $500m bond issue in March with a five-year offering that carried a coupon of 2%.
HPH Trust’s $5.5bn initial public offering in 2011 is still among the largest to date in Singapore.
The company’s key shareholders comprise Hutchison Ports, with a 27.6% stake, and Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings, which has a 14% stake.
In August, HPH Trust’s Yantian terminal set new records for the largest number of moves handled for a single containership within two days.
The terminal initially loaded and unloaded 21,472 teus during the stay of the 13,892-teu APL Raffles (built 2013), exceeding the previous record of 18,447 teus in 2020 by 16%.
The terminal then improved this record just two days later, when it handled 22,398 teus during the visit of Mediterranean Shipping Company’s 12,400-teu MSC Flavia (built 2012).
