New | Chinese developer Country Garden plans to raise US$900m in five-year bond

Chinese property developer Country Garden plans to raise US$900 million in a five-year bond that marks its fifth fundraising deal in the past year.

The Guangdong-based developer will offer the new bond, paying a coupon rate of 7.5 per cent, to refinance existing debt that pays higher interest, it said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday.

The current five-year bond, with a coupon rate of 11.125 per cent, will mature in 2018.

Chief financial officer Wu Jianbin said in the statement that net proceeds of US$888 million would be used for refinancing a 2018 notes and other existing indebtedness.

A person familiar with the transaction said: “Country Garden’s latest bond offering is well received by institutional investors, representing about half of the entire order book.”

The company raised a combined US$1.78 billion in four transactions last year, including two bond deals and a rights offering, according to Dealogic.