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Labuan's Profile As Offshore Exchange Continues To Grow
by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

30 March 2006

Labuan International Financial Exchange (LFX) has announced the listing of Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad’s (PMB) USD1.0 billion Guaranteed Notes - the 36th listing on the exchange since its launch in 2000.

“The listing of the Guaranteed Notes further reflects the increasing acceptance of LFX as a premier offshore exchange by Malaysian corporations,” commented Chairman of LFX Board, Encik Yusli Mohamed Yusoff

The Guaranteed Notes, due in 2016, are guaranteed by the Government of Malaysia. With a coupon rate of 5.625% per annum, the Guaranteed Notes have been rated A(3) by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc and A(-) by Standard & Poor’s Rating Services.

The listing of the Guaranteed Notes signifies the continued confidence of Government Linked Companies (GLCs) in LFX.

“We certainly welcome other potential GLCs to emulate PMB’s move in listing their foreign currency instruments on LFX and also to take advantage of the opportunities offered by LFX to the offshore financial activities in Labuan International Offshore Financial Centre (IOFC),” added Yusli, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Bursa Malaysia Berhad.

The listing sponsor for the Guaranteed Notes is CIMB (L) Limited. Licensed by LFX, a listing sponsor is primarily responsible for arranging the listing of instruments on LFX and for any subsequent post-listing obligations arising.

Commerce International Merchant Bankers Berhad, Deutsche Bank Securities and Morgan Stanley are the joint bookrunners for the Notes.

The Issuer will use the net proceeds from the sale of the Notes to repay existing debt, to finance the acquisition of aircraft, for working capital and for general corporate purposes.

With the latest listing, LFX’s range of financial instruments now comprises six Sukuks, six open-ended funds, twenty-one conventional debt securities and exchangeable bonds and two preference shares. This brings the total market capitalisation of LFX to USD13.45 billion.

A comprehensive report in our Intelligence Report series examining offshore investment, offshore stock exchanges, and hedge funds is available in the Lowtax Library at http://www.lowtaxlibrary.com/asp/subs_reports.asp and a description of the report can be seen at http://www.lowtaxlibrary.com/asp/description_report9.asp

 


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