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NEW STRAITS TIMES – 31/5/2021

Bank Pembangunan's RM1.25bil sukuk attracts RM3.34bil in demand

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KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Bhd's RM1.25 billion Sukuk Wakalah hads received warm response from diversified investors during its book-building exercise.

Bank Pembangunan said the sukuk had surpassed its initial target issue size of RM750 million.

It registered a final order book of RM3.34 billion translating into a total bid-to-cover (BTC) of 4.45 times (pre-upsizing) and 2.67 times (post-upsizing).

"Diversified support from varied investors including financial institutions, asset managers, pension funds and insurance companies was reflective of the general market's positive sentiment towards the bank's credit," it said today.

Bank Pembangunan president and group chief executive officer Arshad Mohamed Ismail said the successful second issuance under the sukuk reflected market confidence in its fundamentals and strategic direction. 

In line with its aspiration to fulfil the development needs of the country, Bank Pembangunan embarked on a paradigm shift via "MIND: Measuring Impact on National Development" framework and is now focused on both financial and non-financial impact indicators. 

Using MIND, the bank's projects are assessed based on their financial and also social or environmental impact. Financing decisions are supported by how projects score on the scale. 

Being sector agnostic and impact driven, the bank said it had broadened its focus beyond traditional sectors and expanded into broad economic themes that encompass sustainability, digitalisation and inclusivity.