King & Wood and Clifford Chance have been engaged to advise Fufeng Group on its recent US$120m convertible bond issuance on the Singapore stock exchange.

King & Wood lead partners, who describe the issuance as a ‘swift transaction’, commented that the bonds saw strong participation from more than 40 international investors. The firm is Fufeng’s long-term legal counsel and has been representing the issuer since 2004. In 2007, King & Wood facilitated Fufeng’s IPO launch.

Clifford Chance, on the other hand, is the first-time advisor for Fufeng. “We advised the company on the structure, terms of the convertible bonds and the implications on their business. We also assisted the company in the application to the HKEx for the listing of new shares post-conversion of the bonds,” said Connie Heng, Clifford Chance’s partner. “This was the first international convertible bonds issued by the client so it was important to ensure they were comfortable with the process at every stage,” she added.

The Mainboard of Singapore has raised its profile among Chinese companies. China Gaoxian Fibre Fabric, for example, a producer and seller of premium differentiated fine polyester yarn and warp knit fabric, launched its US$83.2m IPO on the Singapore Stock Exchange late last year.

“We are seeing a steady increase in the number of Chinese companies issuing convertible bonds on the international capital markets in order to access the region's capital markets,” said Heng. “The SGX is already a popular and preferred choice for foreign companies seeking an exchange on which to list, and we expect that trend to continue.”

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