Masan Group has announced the successful full disbursement of its $600 million syndicated loan, an underwritten transaction which was oversubscribed by 37 international lenders.
The Transaction was arranged by BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, HSBC, and Standard Chartered Bank. The $600 million transaction is the largest ever 5-year offshore syndicated loan in Vietnam’s private corporate sector, Masan said in a statement.
The loan is priced at 2.9% over the U.S Dollar Secured Overnight Financing Rate, or approximately 6.7% per annum, with a margin over the reference rate improving by 35 basis points compared to the $200 million syndicated loan completed in 2020.
This improvement is considerable given that the recent transaction is for a 5-year loan versus a the 3-year tenor of 2020 loan, which was completed during a lower interest rate environment.
While less expensive, the increase in U.S. Dollar borrowing has introduced greater foreign exchange risk. As per internal policy, the Company will actively monitor and assess the right time for entering into hedging transactions to mitigate market risks while maintaining optimal cost of capital.
Since the establishment of The CrownX (TCX) at the end of 2019, Masan’s integrated consumer-retail platform that consolidates WinCommerce and Masan Consumer Holding, the Company has been able to materially improve TCX’ cash flow generation.
The CrownX’s EBITDA in 2022 is expected to grow by 3x versus 2019 (assuming full year consolidation of both WinCommerce and Masan Consumer Holding) with EBITDA margin improving to 13.4% from 5.5% during the same period, mainly driven by the turnaround of the retail business under Masan’s stewardship. WCM’s EBITDA margin is expected to improve by approximately 11% in 2022 compared to 2019.
Stronger business performance and expansion of retail network profitably have been recognized by other debt providers and international partners.
The recent issuance of VND1,700 billion bonds with tenor 5 years in November 2022, subscribed by well-known multinational investors managing high-AUM bond funds in Vietnam, and
VND2,500 billion in other domestic bonds issued in 2022. The tenor of all of the bonds issued in 2022 are 5 years, longer than the typical 3-year tenor of similar corporate bonds in the market, helping to lengthen the company’s debt schedule.
The Company maintains a sustainable leverage ratio and liquidity position given its ability to attract both international and local investors.
The new debts will not significantly affect the leverage ratio of the company while increasing the liquidity significantly thanks to higher duration and improved operating performance.
Up to November 2022, the company has not only fully repaid all of 2022 debt services of VND6,915 billion but also early repaid VND6,660 billion of debt maturing in 2023.
Souce: Nhip cau dau tu