Hong Kong – 22 July 2004 – Read all today’s law announcements in LAWFUEL PRESS RELEASES,
Global law firm Clifford Chance has advised HSBC, Merrill Lynch and Bank of China Group, as the Arrangers and Joint Global Coordinators, in the HK$20 billion debut global bond offering by the Hong Kong SAR Government.
The transaction, due to close at the end of July, consists of a US dollar-denominated issue of 10-year notes to be offered to institutional investors pursuant to Rule 144A and Regulation S under the US Securities Act; a Hong Kong dollar-denominated issue in two tranches of 5-year and 15-year notes to be offered to institutional investors pursuant to Regulation S, and a Hong Kong dollar-denominated retail issue in two tranches of 2-year and 4-year bonds to be offered to Hong Kong retail investors. The bonds of all three offerings will be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The Clifford Chance team was led by Capital Markets partner Stephen Roith. The team comprised US Securities partner Jon Zonis, Counsel David Poureshagh, and associates Connie Heng, Man Lee, Amy Cheung, Shireen Khoo, Malini Budhwani, Vicci Lau, Stella Ling and Patrick Dougherty. Partner Patrick O’Connor and associates Anthony Oakes and Ada Wan advised Bank of China (Hong Kong) as trustee for the retail bonds.
Stephen Roith commented:
“Accessing three different markets simultaneously in two currencies is an ambitious and challenging way for a new sovereign issuer to make its debut in the bond markets. We are delighted to have been involved in this landmark transaction, which has been a huge success for Hong Kong.”
