INTI Universal Holdings Issues Inaugural RM Bond of $35.28 Million

Malaysia’s INTI Universal Holdings has successfully issued its first RM Bond issuance via a Guaranteed Medium-Term Note (MTN) of $35.28 million, guaranteed by the Credit Guarantee and Investment Facility (CGIF), a trust fund of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The proceeds from the Guaranteed MTN will be utilised for the operating expenditure of INTI Group which operates INTI International University Nilai, INTI International College Penang and INTI International College Subang. OCBC Bank of Malaysia (OCBC) led the transaction by acting as the Principal Adviser, Lead Arranger, Lead Manager and Facility Agent for the Guaranteed MTN.

Established in November 2010 under the Asian Bond Market Initiative, CGIF’s mandate is to develop the local-currency bond markets in Japan, China, Korea and the 10 ASEAN countries (collectively, ASEAN+3).

CGIF is jointly contributed by the ASEAN+3 and ADB. CGIF’s development functions include guaranteeing bonds that hold at least investment grade ratings – based on local credit rating standards – as well as making investments for the development of the ASEAN+3 bond markets. CGIF is rated AA by S&P Global Ratings and AAA by RAM Ratings.

INTI is one of the largest private higher education service providers in Malaysia providing academic education for junior college, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and doctorate degree programmes. INTI owns and operates INTI International University Nilai, INTI International College Penang, INTI International College Subang INTI College Sabah.

INTI was acquired by Hope Education Group Company Limited (HEG) from Laureate Education Inc in 2020. HEG is one of the largest private education groups in China which owns and operates universities, higher education schools, technical colleges and schools in China, Hungary, Thailand, and Malaysia.

Tan Ai Chin, Managing Director, Senior Banker & Head of Investment Banking of OCBC said that OCBC played a pivotal role to advise and lead this landmark transaction being the first CGIF guaranteed RM MTN in the private education industry. The Guaranteed MTN also garnered strong demand from investors with a bid-to-cover-ratio of about three times.

“We are glad to partner CGIF in this transaction and we are confident that this collaboration has great potential benefit to INTI as it has enabled the company to tap into a diversified investor base through the vibrant RM capital market. This transaction further reinforces the OCBC Group’s strength in providing financial advisory and supporting our customers in their businesses across our regional network,” she added.

Hongwei Wang, Chief Executive Officer of CGIF, said that the inaugural RM MTN issuance enables INTI to diversify its funding sources.

“This transaction shows our commitment to the Malaysian bond markets and compliments CGIF’s efforts to add diversity to the issuer universe in Malaysia. Following our successful support to HEG’s cross-border THB issuance in September, the transaction showcases our commitment not only in promoting debut issuers, but also strengthening cross-border bond market linkages between the ASEAN+3 under the ASEAN+3 Multi-Currency Bond Issuance Framework (AMBIF,” he added.

About CGIF

CGIF is established as a trust fund of ADB with paid-in capital of around $1.16 billion from its contributors. As a key component of the Asian Bond Markets Initiative (ABMI), CGIF was established to develop and strengthen local currency and regional bond markets in the ASEAN+3 region. CGIF commenced its guaranteed operations on 1 May 2012 and seeks to provide credit enhancements, mainly in local currencies, issued by credit worthy ASEAN+3-domiciled bond issuers.

Also, as a contributor to CGIF, ADB acts as the Secretariat to ABMI, and has worked with ASEAN+3 policymakers to establish the AMBIF. The ABMI, CGIF, and AMBIF were established to support development of active long- term local currency bond markets so borrowers can avoid the currency and maturity bond mismatches that caused the 1997-1998 Asian Financial Crisis.