On 5 January 2024, the Airport Authority announced the launch of its 4.25% listed retail bonds due 2026 (the “Bonds”), available for subscription by the public in Hong Kong, to fund its capital expenditure (including the three-runway system project) and for general corporate purposes.
The total issuance size of the Bonds is HK$5 billion. The offering was very well-received by the market, with over-subscription by 2.1 times and the total principal amount of valid applications exceeding HK$15.6 billion. The Bonds were issued on 5 February 2024, and admitted to listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on 6 February 2024.
This marks the first listed HKD retail bond issuance by a non-government issuer and the first retail bond issuance by the Airport Authority in over 20 years.
Deacons acted as the legal advisers to the Joint Lead Managers (Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited) and the Trustee (Bank of China (Hong Kong) Trustees Limited) as to Hong Kong law on this significant transaction.
Our team was led by Kevin Tong (advising the Joint Lead Managers) and Icarus Yuen (advising the Trustee), Partners of our Corporate Finance Practice Group specialising in debt capital market transactions.
Kevin Tong commented, “We are honoured to have advised the Joint Lead Managers and the Trustee in this notable transaction. Not only is this a landmark issuance for the Airport Authority, but it also contributes significantly to the development of the retail bond market in Hong Kong.”
