Standard Chartered HK to sell SDR bonds next week

By Ina Zhou

HONG KONG, Oct (HKSE: 3366-OL.HK - news) 21 (IFR) - Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) intends to price one-year bonds denominated in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), the International Monetary Fund's synthetic reserve currency, in China's interbank bond market on Tuesday.

The issue size is expected to be SDR100 million (about 925 million renminbi or $139 million) and settlement of the bonds will be in renminbi, according to the filing to the Shanghai Clearing House.

Both the issuer and notes have ratings of AAA from Shanghai Brilliance Credit Rating & Investors Service.

The lender proceeds will use the proceeds for its overseas business.

Standard Chartered Bank (China) and China Construction Bank are joint lead underwriters and joint lead bookrunners on the offering.

Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China (HKSE: 3988-OL.HK - news) , Bank of Communications and ICBC (HKSE: 1398-OL.HK - news) are joint lead underwriters. China Development Bank serves as financial advisor.

The offering will be the first from a commercial issuer, and comes after the World Bank printed three-year SDR bonds at 0.49 percent on August 31, the first time securities have been issued in the synthetic reserve currency in 35 years.

China has been promoting the International Monetary Fund's SDR as an alternative to the US dollar. The country has also made the alternative reserve currency a key focus of its push to internationalise the renminbi.

The renminbi was formally added to the SDR currency basket on October 1. (Reporting by Ina Zhou; editing by Dharsan Singh and Daniel Stanton)