General Announcement::SGX Fixed Income welcomes the listing of Astrea 7 private equity bonds

Issuer & Securities

Issuer/ Manager
SINGAPORE EXCHANGE LIMITED
Stapled Security
No

Announcement Details

Announcement Title
General Announcement
Date &Time of Broadcast
30-May-2022 12:07:49
Status
New
Announcement Sub Title
SGX Fixed Income welcomes the listing of Astrea 7 private equity bonds
Announcement Reference
SG220530OTHRQPA7
Submitted By (Co./ Ind. Name)
Jo-Ann
Designation
Senior Associate, Marketing & Communications
Description (Please provide a detailed description of the event in the box below)
SGX Fixed Income today welcomed the listing of Astrea 7 private equity (PE) bonds, including the fourth and largest PE bond offering for retail investors in Singapore, issued by Astrea 7 Pte. Ltd. which is indirectly wholly-owned by Azalea Asset Management Pte. Ltd., an indirect subsidiary of Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited.

Astrea 7 PE bonds are backed by cash flows from a US$1.9-billion portfolio of investments in 38 underlying PE funds, offering global exposure to initially 982 investee companies across diverse sectors. There are three classes of bonds, comprising S$526 million of Class A-1 Bonds, US$175 million of Class A-2 Bonds and US$200 million of Class B Bonds. The offering was well received by investors, with total subscription of over US$2 billion received across both the public and placement tranches, representing a subscription rate of three times of the bonds offered.

As part of the transaction, Astrea 7 offered retail investors S$280 million of Class A-1 Bonds and US$100 million of Class B Bonds, marking the first time that retail investors in Singapore could invest in the more junior and higher-yielding Class B Bonds and in US dollar-denominated bonds.

Pol de Win, Senior Managing Director, Head of Global Sales and Origination, SGX Group, said, "As Asia's largest international bond marketplace, we are delighted to welcome another successful listing of Astrea PE bonds, providing retail investors access to wider fixed income investment opportunities. Against the current market backdrop, rising interest rates and inflation, investors are looking to diversify their portfolios, while bonds issued by highly rated issuers or backed by quality assets are also becoming more attractive. We will continue our efforts to work with issuers to develop more products for the retail market."

Margaret Lui, Chief Executive Officer of Azalea Investment Management Pte. Ltd., said, "We are encouraged by the strong support and feedback from retail investors for the Astrea 7 Class A-1 and Class B Bonds. Given the current market volatility, we are pleased to see investors' recognition of the quality of the Astrea 7 PE Bonds. Azalea is committed to take a phased approach to broaden investors' access to private equity, and we are pleased to be able to offer the retail investors in Singapore an opportunity to invest in the more junior tranche US-dollar denominated Class B Bonds for the first time in Astrea 7. Azalea will be guided by investors' demand and feedback to develop and introduce more innovative products and solutions to deepen investors' exposure to private equity in the future."

The Astrea 7 Class A-1 and Class B PE bonds began trading on SGX today.

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