Telekom Malaysia raises $500m

Telekom Malaysia raises $500m

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's largest telecommunications company,
Telekom Malaysia Bhd., raised US$500 million from the sale of 10-
year bonds with the funds going to refinance existing debt and
for working capital, a top official said on Tuesday.

"This transaction marks Telekom Malaysia's re-emergence in the
international debt capital markets since our last $300 million
bond issue in 2000," Abdul Wahid Omar, Telekom's group chief
executive said in a statement.

The offering through Deutsche Bank AG, UBS AG and CIMB was
priced at 112 basis points over US Treasuries of the same tenor.
The bonds carry a coupon of 5.25 percent, paid semi-annually.

Telekom Malaysia which is 65 percent owned by the government
has around 99 percent of the fixed-line market and 38 percent of
the wireless market in Malaysia. -- AFP