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Wednesday September 27, 5:24 PMTemasek picks banks for 1 bln euro bond-sourceSINGAPORE, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings [TEM.UL] has mandated four banks to raise 1 billion euros ($1.27 billion) in what could be its longest-dated international bond, a banker close to the deal said on Wednesday.Citigroup , Goldman Sachs , Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley have been chosen to sell the bonds, said the source. "It will be for 1 billion euros, off Temasek's global note programme. The tenor hasn't been determined but it is no secret that they are looking to set a benchmark," he added. Temasek was not immediately available for comment. A 30-year deal would be one of the longest-dated issues to come out of Asia. Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. raised $1.5 billion from a 30-year bond issue which matures in 2033, while Indonesia's government sold 30-year bonds last year. The deal would be Temasek's second international debt sale. Last September, Temasek sold $1.75 billion, 10-year bonds off its $5 billion global note programme. Reuters had reported in February that Temasek, which has a credit rating of AAA and Aaa from rating agencies Standard & Poor's and Moody's respectively, was looking to sell bonds with a tenor of 30 years in the second half of the year. Ho Ching -- Temasek's chief executive officer, who is also the wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong -- said in 2004 that the state-owned firm wanted to issue a 25-year or 30-year bond to help broaden and deepen the country's debt market. AGGRESSIVE EXPANSION The state-owned investment firm's portfolio -- which includes some of the city-state's biggest firms such as Singapore Telecommunications and DBS Group Holdings , the region's biggest telecoms group and bank respectively -- was valued at S$129 billion at the end of March 2006. Temasek has expanded aggressively across Asia in the last five years, buying up stakes in banks and telecoms firms in order to boost its long-term investment returns. One of the most controversial deals was the $3.8 billion acquisition earlier this year of Shin Corp. , the leading Thai telecoms company founded by former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The purchase, by a Temasek-led consortium, of Thaksin's stake in Shin sparked a political crisis in Bangkok, prompting snap elections and months of political uncertainty that eventually led to last week's ouster of Thaksin in a military coup. |
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