Maybank

Kuala Lumpur, 21 March 2014 – Bumitama Agri Ltd. (“Bumitama” or the “Company”) and Maybank Investment Bank Berhad (“Maybank IB”) as Joint Principal Adviser, Joint Lead Arranger, Joint Lead Manager and Joint Bookrunner (“JPA/JLA/JLM/JBR”) for the Sukuk Programme, have successfully priced and issued Bumitama’s inaugural MYR500 million 5-year sukuk issuance under its maiden Sukuk Programme of up to MYR2.0 billion in nominal value. This issuance represents Bumitama’s inaugural diversification into the fixed-income capital markets for financing and also marks Bumitama’s foray into the Malaysian capital markets. In doing so, Bumitama contributes to the growing list of foreign issuers who have tapped the Malaysian bond and sukuk market.

As a company incorporated and publicly listed in Singapore with oil palm operations in Indonesia, Bumitama was attracted to raise cost-efficient USD funding by tapping the depth and breadth of the MYR sukuk market and swapping the MYR proceeds into USD. Maybank IB as one of the JPA/JLA/JLM/JBRs successfully arranged the Sukuk Programme for Bumitama and leveraged on its distribution network and position as a leading Malaysian debt capital markets franchise to secure demand from high-quality investors. As a result, Maybank IB was able to price the issuance below the final price guidance and Bumitama’s maiden sukuk offering was ultimately printed as a MYR500million issuance with a tenure of 5 years and profit rate of 5.25%. By investor type, the sukuk was allocated to a diverse group of institutional accounts including asset managers (74%), financial institutions (12%), insurance companies (12%), and corporates (2%).

“We are pleased with the outcome of this maiden issuance, and investors’ response to the Bumitama name. As a relatively young palm oil company with growth prospects, the Bumitama group is always on the lookout for growth opportunities,” said Sie Eddy Kurniawan, Chief Financial Officer of Bumitama. “The establishment of the Sukuk Programme gives us the financial diversification and flexibility to access funding when such needs arise.”

John Chong, Chief Executive Officer of the Maybank Kim Eng Group and Maybank IB said: “We are honoured that Bumitama selected Maybank IB to advise on its foray into the Malaysian capital markets. This issuance continues to showcase our platform and unparalleled expertise in structuring and executing sukuk transactions.”

The Sukuk Programme has been assigned a rating of AA3 by RAM Ratings Services Berhad. Bumitama plans to use the proceeds from the issuance of sukuk under the Sukuk Programme for capital expenditure, working capital requirements, investments, refinancing existing debt and general corporate purposes of the Bumitama group, all of which shall be Shariah-compliant.

The Maybank Group’s participation in the Sukuk Programme and first issuance of sukuk are multi-fold and span its entire Global Banking platform. In addition to the JPA/JLM/JLA/JBR role, Maybank IB also secured the Facility Agent role whilst Maybank Kim Eng Securities Pte Ltd was appointed as a Dealer for the first issuance of sukuk under the Sukuk Programme. Maybank Islamic Berhad was appointed the Shariah Adviser for the Sukuk Programme, whilst Malayan Banking Berhad’s global markets desk provided the USD/MYR cross currency swap.