Standard Chartered Vietnam places Vietnam Electrical Equipment Joint Stock Corporation’s VND1.15 trillion fixed rate bonds, guaranteed by CGIF

Hanoi, 14 January 2020 - Standard Chartered Bank (Vietnam) Limited (“Standard Chartered Vietnam”) has successfully placed Vietnam Electrical Equipment Joint Stock Corporation’s (“Gelex”) VND1.15 trillion (equivalent to USD50 million) fixed rate bonds. The issue was guaranteed by Credit Guarantee and Investment Facility (“CGIF”), a trust fund of Asian Development Bank rated AA internationally by S&P.  

Gelex is a listed and publicly traded diversified business group in Vietnam operating 2 key business sectors: Industrial production and Infrastructure.  In industrial production, Gelex’s electrical equipment production and sales maintain the leading position in the Vietnamese market. For infrastructure development, Gelex has become a pioneer in the renewable energy industry with its solar and wind power projects beside a wide-range of commercial and industrial real estate projects.

This is the eleventh CGIF-guaranteed VND-denominated corporate bond issue transaction where Standard Chartered Vietnam has acted as the sole Bond Issuance Agent. 

“We are pleased to support Gelex in their bond issuance, which has contributed to further deepening the Vietnamese capital markets. The successful transaction once again reaffirms our position as the bank of choice when it comes to guaranteed local currency bond origination in the country. As the Best International Bank in Vietnam (1), we will continue leveraging on our unrivalled local insights and international network and expertise to effectively support our clients as they seek to pursue sustainable growth opportunities.” said Mr. Nirukt Sapru, CEO Vietnam and ASEAN & South Asia Cluster Markets, Standard Chartered Bank. 

"We appreciate the commitment of our partners, CGIF and Standard Chartered Vietnam, in helping us execute our CGIF-guaranteed bond issuance in the Vietnam capital markets. The strong international recognition by CGIF as the guarantor for the bond has proven Gelex’s good management practices and our commitments to sustainable social and environmental development. We look forward to working alongside them as we continue to grow our group in the years ahead. Given the dynamic nature of our group, having a fixed-rate long-term funding will position us well in executing our business strategies,” said Mr Nguyen Van Tuan, Chairman of Gelex.

"CGIF is proud to support Gelex with its overall business strategy and endeavors to promote renewable energy sources within Vietnam by having introduced a new source of debt capital funding for the group. The transaction has not only matched the long-term funding requirements of Gelex but has also enabled the efficient deployment of capital to a solar project which advocates the sustainable development of energy resources within the country. Apart from providing issuers access to longer-term funding and, in turn, effectively mobilise savings, CGIF hopes to mirror the same success that it has achieved in Vietnam by guaranteeing bonds for developmental purposes in other frontier markets and the rest of the ASEAN+3 countries," said Ms Guiying Sun, Chief Executive Officer of CGIF.  

CGIF continues to fortify its role as a catalyst for strong bond market development in Vietnam and the ASEAN region as this transaction marks the eleventh bond that CGIF has guaranteed in the VND market, totaling USD 692 million equivalent. Having helped with the establishment of more resilient capital markets within ASEAN region, CGIF stands ready to assist more companies raise long-term fixed-rate funding in matching tenors and currencies and thus realize the aspirations of all its stakeholders.

The VND1.15 trillion fixed rate bonds are priced at an interest rate of 6.95% p.a. for a 10-year maturity term.

(1) Standard Chartered was recognised the Best International Bank in Vietnam by Asiamoney in 2018 and 2019