Wanda Properties International Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties successfully sold US$600m in ten-year bonds on January 23, becoming the first Asian real estate company to issue 10 year bonds so far in a year.

This is the second time Wanda has issued overseas bonds since it successfully sold US$600m worth in five-year bonds back in November 2013. This recent sale has been greeted with significant interest by the international investment community. The scale, subscription ratio and coupon rate of this issuance reflect the high degree of investor confidence in Wanda at the moment.

This bond sale created a number of records in terms of Chinese private companies issuing bonds overseas: Firstly, it was the largest bond sale of any private Chinese real estate firm in the past year. Secondly, a 7.25% coupon rate meant it was considerably lower than the average bond level over the same period for any Chinese real estate company. Thirdly, the market response was over overwhelming. In the absence of a roadshow, the issuance was oversubscribed by six times, generating total orders in excess of US$3.3 billion from over 200 investors. With an expected rise in US Treasury interest rates and a weak long-term bond market, the reaction to this latest transaction has been very rare.

With strong orders, the final transaction price was 20 bps lower than the initial price, causing the total bonds issued to increase from US$500 million to US$600 million. Asian investors accounted for 83% of total orders, while European investors accounted for 17%. Sovereign wealth funds accounted for 5%, bond funds accounted for 67%, with the remainder consisting of insurance companies, commercial banks, private banks and corporate clients. The majority of investors who partook in this transaction were also involved in Wanda Commercial Properties November 2013 issuance of five-year bonds, which shows the increasing level of trust among overseas investors towards the Wanda brand. The majority of investors were also involved in Wanda Commercial Properties November 2013 issuance of five-year bonds, which shows the level of trust among overseas investors towards the Wanda brand, establishing a credible and long-term foundation for investors as well as highlighting Wanda's influence in overseas capital markets.  

Relying on its position as a domestic market leader, with a superior business model and incomparable scale of property space under management, Wanda Commercial Properties was graded by the three leading international credit rating agencies Moody's, Standard and Poor and Fitch's. The company was assigned a credit rating of Baa2 Stable by Moody's, a BBB+ Stable rating by Standard and Poor and a BBB+ Stable rating by Fitch's, making it the only private, non-listed real estate company to receive the rating. Wanda Commercial Properties successfully issued US$600m worth in five-year bonds back in November 2013 that were oversubscribed by 4.6 times by investors. Issuing bonds overseas is a part of Wanda Commercial Properties strategy to build a low cost financing platform to further consolidate and enhance the company's position as a market leader.