In September 2019 Guangxi Communications Investment Group Corporation Ltd. issued three-year 300-million-dollar senior unsecured bonds with a coupon rate of 3.5%. For this issuance, CCB International, Bank of China, China Securities International and BOCOM International acted as joint global coordinators, joint lead managers and joint book managers and ICBC International, DBS Bank, Hong Kong Branch of China Minsheng Banking Corp. and China CITIC Bank International acted as joint lead managers and book managers (hereinafter referred to as "underwriters" collectively).
As of the end of June 2019, Guangxi Communications Investment Group Corporation Ltd. had a registered capital of RMB 30,105 million, total assets of RMB 373.360 billion, net assets of RMB124.2 billion, and about 15,427 active employees. Thanks to the steady and sound market performance of the Group in recent years, Moody's rating of the issuer and expected rating of the bonds are both Baa2, compared to BBB from Fitch. The issuance attracted keen attention from international investors, including those from Switzerland, Luxembourg and Singapore. The coupon rate issued is a new low for USD bonds issued by Chinese issuers with the same rating and of the same type.
As Guangxi's leading builder of transport infrastructure, the Group raised funds from the issuance to make better use of the connected domestic and international resources and markets, speed up the construction of land roads and open Guangxi wider in four directions for further development. This successful issuance reflects the international investors' strong confidence in Guangxi's transport industry and its future development, and builds up the visibility of Guangxi's state-owned enterprises in the international capital market.
As the Chinese legal counselor for the underwriters, the DeHeng team was headed by lawyer Hou Zhiwei, partner of the Beijing Office, with primary support from Zhang Yan, Hu Xueyuan, Yang Jingjing, Xianyu Jiashan, Sun Yuehao and Wang Zhi. They worked closely with the issuer, underwriters and overseas lawyers to provide comprehensive, professional, efficient and premium legal services for the issuance.