The Thomson Reuters BPAM All Bond Index ended the week with a gain of 0.15 per cent to close at 137.49 from 137.29 registered in the previous week amid weakening of the Malaysian ringgit against the backdrop of tumbling crude oil prices as Malaysia is a net exporter of crude oil. The ringgit has softened to 3.3825 against US dollar this week.
On Thursday, Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided that it will not cut the oil production at the conclusion of its meeting, despite the softening of crude oil prices seen in recent days. Both Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude plunged to below US$72 and US$69 per barrel respectively in the aftermath of the announcement.
Top 10 most active bonds:
The turnover of the top 10 most actively traded bonds improved slightly to RM9.7 billion from RM9.4 billion last week. The on-the-run 10-year benchmark MGS (07/2024) and the re-opened five-year benchmark MGS (10/2019) commanded the top two position with RM1.9 billion traded each.
Sovereign bond auction:
On Tuesday, BNM announced the tender details for the re-opening of the RM3.5 billion five-year MGS maturing on October 31, 2019. The auction closed on November 27, 2014 with a lukewarm bid-to-cover ratio of 1.791 times. The highest, average and lowest yields are 3.733, 3.721 and 3.71 per cent respectively.
New bond(s):
On November 24, 2014, Tan Chong Motor Holdings Bhd (TCMH) issued a five-year and a seven-year bond with coupon rates of 4.5 and 4.7 per cent respectively. The total issuance size is RM750 million. TCMH is rated AA2 with a stable outlook by RAM Ratings. On the same day, Imtiaz Sukuk II Berhad (Imtiaz II) issued a five-year and a seven-year sukuk with profit rates of 4.5 and 4.65 per cent respectively. The total issuance size is RM500 million. Imtiaz II is rated AA2(s) with a stable outlook by RAM Ratings.
On November 27, 2014, Danainfra Nasional Bhd issued a seven-year, 15-year, 20-year, 25-year and 30-year Islamic Medium Term Notes (IMTN) with total issuance size of RM2.4 billion. These government guaranteed IMTNs carry profit rates of 4.16, 4.67, 4.79, 4.98 and 5.16 per cent respectively. On the same day, Gas Malaysia Bhd issued a one-year IMTN worth RM70 million with a profit rate of 3.95 per cent. Gas Malaysia is rated AAA ID with a stable outlook by MARC.