PLUS Expressways Bhd, Malaysia’s biggest toll-road operator, plans a RM30 billion (US$9.5 billion) Islamic bond program to fund expansion plans after a takeover, two people familiar with the matter said.
Marketing of the Shariah-compliant bonds, or sukuk, may begin either late this year or in early 2012, said the people, who declined to be named as the information is confidential. PLUS currently holds US$3.9 billion of bonds mostly falling due by 2024, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The issuance follows this year’s RM23 billion takeover of PLUS’s assets and liabilities by state-owned UEM Group Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund, Malaysia’s biggest pension fund. The Selangor-based company operates 973 kilometers (605 miles) of toll expressways in Malaysia, stretching from its border with Thailand in the north to Singapore.
PLUS will today announce revised terms to its toll concession agreement with the government, according to an e-mailed media invitation sent yesterday. UEM and EPF will also provide an update on their plans for the company following their takeover, it said.
The group’s shares rose 0.2 per cent to RM4.42 at 10:21 a.m. local time in Kuala Lumpur today, tracking Malaysia’s benchmark index. UEM and EPF control more than 58 per cent of the stock, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. -- Bloomberg
Marketing of the Shariah-compliant bonds, or sukuk, may begin either late this year or in early 2012, said the people, who declined to be named as the information is confidential. PLUS currently holds US$3.9 billion of bonds mostly falling due by 2024, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The issuance follows this year’s RM23 billion takeover of PLUS’s assets and liabilities by state-owned UEM Group Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund, Malaysia’s biggest pension fund. The Selangor-based company operates 973 kilometers (605 miles) of toll expressways in Malaysia, stretching from its border with Thailand in the north to Singapore.
PLUS will today announce revised terms to its toll concession agreement with the government, according to an e-mailed media invitation sent yesterday. UEM and EPF will also provide an update on their plans for the company following their takeover, it said.
The group’s shares rose 0.2 per cent to RM4.42 at 10:21 a.m. local time in Kuala Lumpur today, tracking Malaysia’s benchmark index. UEM and EPF control more than 58 per cent of the stock, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. -- Bloomberg
