Hong Kong airport authority's US$640 million retail bonds to fund new runway prove popular with investors in boost for city's aviation hub ambitions

Airport Authority Hong Kong's (AAHK) HK$5 billion (US$640 million) retail bonds, the first for the general public by the city's airport operator in 20 years, received overwhelming response from investors.

The 4.5 per cent, 2.5-year bonds were oversubscribed more than three times, logging HK$15.69 billion from 175,178 applications. The Hong Kong government's 4.75 per cent, three-year green bonds last September attracted a record 321,018 subscriptions totalling HK$30 billion, exceeding the HK$20 billion issue size.

"The bonds have been allocated in accordance with the mechanism set out in the offering memorandum," the Airport Authority said in a statement. "The valid applications received have been allocated different amounts of bonds up to a maximum of three trading lots for each valid application."

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Applications for up to two lots will get their entire allocation, the authority said.

The new north runway of Hong Kong International Airport. Photo: Handout alt=The new north runway of Hong Kong International Airport. Photo: Handout>

The bonds represent the last leg of financing for the third runway at Hong Kong's airport. The new runway will allow the airport to handle an extra 30 million passengers each year and strengthen its status as a leading aviation hub.

The final tally of AAHK's retail bonds was announced hours after Hong Kong's de facto central bank kept the key interest rate unchanged in the first monetary policy decision of 2024.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority maintained the city's base rate at 5.75 per cent, in lockstep with the Federal Reserve, which kept its target range at 5.25 to 5.5 per cent, in line with market expectations.

Considering interest rates are likely to fall at some point this year, the bonds from AAHK were priced attractively, analysts said.

The interest rate for the Airport Authority's bonds are still attractive given the recent global trend of declining bond yields, said Kenny Ng, a securities strategist at Everbright Securities.

The subscription for the Airport Authority's bonds could have been stronger had investors not already allocated some of their funds to the better-yielding government green bonds, Ng said.

China Citic Bank International said the subscriptions for the retail bonds were in line with expectations.

Last week, Bank of China (Hong Kong) (BOCHK) said it had received a strong response for the AAHK notes, while HSBC, Hong Kong's largest bank, said demand was only "favourable". The two lenders were co-arrangers of the bonds.

Standard Chartered Bank, ICBC Asia, CMB Wing Lung Bank and China Citic Bank International said previously that the response to the Airport Authority's bonds was "satisfactory".

The AAHK had appointed 10 banks to act as market makers for the bonds.

The bonds will pay interest quarterly. Investors with as little as HK$10,000 could subscribe to the bonds between January 17 and Thursday through banks and brokers. Subscribers have the added benefit of redeeming the notes before maturity, allowing them to get their principal and interest due on the date of redemption.

The bonds will start trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange on February 6.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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