OUE C-REIT to refinance debt using $978m sustainability-linked loan

It was financed by mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners.

OUE Commercial REIT acquired a $978m sustainability-linked loan to refinance its existing debt, with the help of a consortium of mandated bookrunners. 

In its announcement, OUE Commercial REIT’s manager said the sustainability-linked loan was financed by a group of mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners, which include CIMB Bank Singapore, Maybank Singapore, OCBC Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank. The OCBC Bank is the acting sustainability advisor.

The REIT also said there are no further refinancing requirements until September next year, where it only needs to pay $291m of debt.

After the refinancing, the REIT’s average term of debt as of 30 June 2022 will prolong to 3.2 years on a pro forma basis with the “weighted average cost of debt expected to remain largely stable.”

OUE Commercial REIT Manager CEO Han Khim Siew said they saw an oversubscription of 1.26 times from 19 banks.

“Significantly increasing the proportion of unsecured debt is an important step in our prudent and proactive capital management strategy which will enhance OUE Commercial REIT’s access to more diverse and competitive funding sources while keeping borrowing costs stable,” he added.