Fu Ji bonds raise cash for growth

Fu Ji Food and Catering Services Holdings raised $600 million from the sale of five-year convertible bonds that would be used mainly to expand production capacity through the opening of a centralised processing centre in Shanghai, market sources said.

The zero-coupon bonds were sold at par and priced with a conversion premium of 13.5 per cent above the $9.034 reference price, which was equal to Monday's volume-weighted average trading price. Shares in the Hong Kong-listed firm were suspended yesterday pending completion of the bond sale.

If they are not converted, the bonds will provide a yield to maturity of 5.75 per cent per year. JP Morgan was sole bookrunner.