Asia (LAWFUEL) – DLA Piper today announced that it advised the Government of the Republic of Indonesia (the “Republic”) on its successful offering of US$3.0 billion of medium-term notes, the country’s largest ever U.S. dollar-denominated bond sale. Southeast Asia’s largest economy sold US$2.0 billion of 10-year notes, with a yield of 11.75%, and US$1.0 billion of five-year notes, with a yield of 10.5%, according to a Finance Ministry statement Friday. The notes are listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX-ST) and were sold to qualified institutional buyers in the United States and other institutional investors around the world. The offering was structured as a drawdown under the US$4.0 billion Global Medium-Term Note (GMTN) program that the Republic had established in January this year. Stephen Peepels, Head of DLA Piper’s U.S. Capital Markets practice in Asia, led the deal with a team from DLA Piper’s Singapore office. The team provided international legal advice to the Indonesia Government to establish the program and facilitate the drawdown of funds.
The Republic’s GMTN program is structured to provide Indonesia with great flexibility to access the debt markets on short notice and take advantage of windows of opportunity that become available from time to time. Notes issued under the program can pay interest on a fixed or floating basis, can be denominated in a variety of currencies, and be listed on any exchange. This was the Republic’s first drawdown under the GMTN program.
“This is a major transaction for the Republic, and was accomplished during challenging times for the debt capital markets. I think its success reflects a prevailing confidence that the country has emerged from a period of dormant or slow growth into one of improved political stability and potential for higher growth” said Stephen Peepels. “The GMTN program, with its flexible structure, gives the Republic great ability to take advantage of market opportunities and rapid access to investor funds”
“We were pleased to assist the Republic in one of Asia’s most important debt capital transactions in quite some time. The Indonesian Government is undertaking major initiatives to improve its financial position and DLA Piper is proud to be supporting it as legal adviser for this important global offering,” said Alastair Da Costa, Asia Managing Director, DLA Piper. “The team has done an exceptional job to coordinate this project in a period of market uncertainty.”
